The Best Things in Life
by Hokai Amplifier
Summary: [AU, Sasuke x Hinata x Gaara] Orochimaru is trying to make everyone miserable again! What can Hinata do about it? More than just a glimpse of Kiba and Shino! Probable ShinoIno, ShikaTema, NaruSaku
1. Hot Chocolate and Tea

"Hinata-chan?"

"Yes, Neji-niisan?" I looked at the tall good-looking young man in the doorway of my room. I gave him a tentative smile. Neji-niisan had brown hair and pearly eyes like mine, except my hair was black.

His eyes crinkled in concern. "You'd better sleep now. We have to get up early in the morning." He ducked upon entering the rather low doorway.

"I will in a moment, nii-san. You know, I'm a little nervous," I told him as he sat down beside me on my bed.

"Why should you be? This is just like any other day-before-the-first-day-of-school." He looked out my window at the stars twinkling brightly against the dark sky.

I sighed. I wished I had more of Neji-niisan's confidence. One of the things I admired in him was his courageousness. He never worried about the future; he stood tall and accepted it. Whereas for me, it's the opposite: I'm timid and fearful. With Neji-niisan's help, I've banished most of the self-doubts that had been eating away at me for a long time, but that doesn't stop me from fretting about the small things sometimes. "You're right. But I'm scared. You know, making new friends and all."

He glanced at me for a moment; the emotion in his eyes was unreadable. "You have me." He returned to gazing out my window.

A warm feeling spread over me, and I couldn't help but smile. Neji-niisan was sweet. He didn't show it much, but I felt it nonetheless. I rested my head on his shoulder. He gave an involuntary start. "Thank you, nii-san. That's really nice of you to say."

His lips twitched, like he was about to smile. I could see it. "You'd better sleep now." He placed a hand on my head briefly, then stood up.

"Good night, nii-san," I said softly.

"Good night," he replied, and slid the door shut.

**-o0o-**

I sat up and yawned, rubbing my eyes. What time was it? It was still dark out. I picked up my alarm clack, its neon glare hurting my eyes. I put it away and swung my feet on the side of the bed. I put on my slippers and proceeded to the kitchen.

Inside, my fingers fumbled for the switch. The fluorescent lighting flooded the room, and I saw I wasn't alone.

"Neji-niisan," I squeaked in surprise. His hair was still tied, but he was in his sleeping yukata.

"Hinata-chan," he acknowledged with a slight nod, and then he sipped his drink.

"Can't sleep?" I asked, making my way to the cupboard. I made some hot chocolate and sat across him.

"Yes," he said, meeting my eyes. He looked down at my mug. "That smells good."

"Want some?" I asked, holding out my mug to him, even if I knew he disliked sweets.

He shook his head. "I already have tea." He indicated his mug.

I giggled. Neji-niisan and his affinity for tea. One time I tasted it, and it burned my tongue. Neji-niisan chuckled a little and blew on it then let me try again. This time I tasted it and almost spat it out. He told me it was jasmine tea. The name sounded very nice, but the taste was bitter. "How could that bitter tea taste good to you?"

"It doesn't have to taste good. It's healthy."

I grimaced.

He smirked. "You and your sweet tooth, Hinata-chan."

I smiled and sipped the hot chocolate. It tasted delicious, and its aroma was tantalizing. Then I sighed. "Do you already know who your adviser is?"

"I believe it's Maito-sensei," he answered. "Lee told me on the phone yesterday."

"Maito-sensei?" I repeated. The name sounded familiar.

"Gai-sensei."

"Oh." A wave of understanding struck me. "The one who looks like Lee-kun?"

His lips twitched slightly. "Yes. He was our Gym teacher last year, and now maybe yours."

"I see," I replied, taking a sip. "Tell me more, nii-san."

He shrugged. "What do you want me to tell about him?"

"I don't know. Teaching methods, I guess. Is he a good teacher?" I wrinkled my nose as Neji-niisan suddenly thrust his mug at me.

"Drink, Hinata-chan," he commanded.

"I'd rather not, nii-san," I said hastily, pushing his hand away.

"Drink," he repeated.

"What's gotten into you, nii-san?" I asked, squirming away from his mug.

"Drink it and you can go to sleep," he said.

I stood up and inched away from him to the sink. I put my mug in the sink and turned to face him warily. "Nii-san, you're scaring me." I stepped slowly to the end of the counter. I prepared myself to bolt for my bedroom. But before I could even move my feet, Neji-niisan was already in front of me, blocking my path.

"Oh, so you won't drink? Well, then… I have no choice but to…" He shook his head smiling evilly, and I stared at him fearfully. What was nii-san going to do?

"TICKLE YOU!" he yelled, bringing his hands to my sides and tickling the life out of me.

"Nii… nii-san!" I gasped for breath between laughs. "Ha…Ha… Ha… Don't please, stop, stop… Don't, nii-san… Ha… Ha… Ha ha ha…" I began to splutter and wheeze, laughing uncontrollably.

"Alright, enough," he said, as he let go of me. "Now, sleep already, all right Hinata-chan?"

I clutched at my sides. "You owe me, nii-san!" I mock glared at him.

He pretended to glare at me too. "I'll tuck you in if I have to, Hinata-chan," he said calmly.

"Hai, hai, I'm going to bed now," I said, resigned. "Oyasuminasai."

"Oyasumi," he replied, and closed the kitchen light.

Author's Note: Hi! This is going to be a multi-part fic. Next up, the first day of school! Woohoo! Then we'll meet more characters there and a scaaary Math teacher.

Anyway, there's a tie-in between the title of the fic and the chapter titles. Besides all the sentimental stuff like love and raising children to be decent people, what do you think are the best things in life? My dear readers (and reviewers), I'd like to know your opinion: Do you think Hot Chocolate and Tea are one (or two) of the best things in life? Why or why not? Remember, there's no right or wrong answer! And also, don't forget to review! Watch out for the next chapter too!


	2. A Scary Math Sensei

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Neji-niisan," I said, rushing out the gate where he was waiting.

He shrugged, and we started walking.

We reached the campus in five minutes. "I'll meet you at lunch," Neji-niisan said, then went off to find his classroom.

I was alone in the crush of students in the hallways. I fought my way against the crowd and eventually located my room. There were already a few people inside.

"Hinata-chan! Over here!" a loud voice called out. I looked near the middle, and saw my friends, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. Kiba-kun had shaggy brown hair and a wolfish smile. I hung around with them whenever Neji-niisan wasn't around.

I made my way to them and sat next to Kiba-kun. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun," I greeted them. I placed my bag under the desk.

"Ohayou, Hinata-chan," they both greeted me. Between the two of them, Shino-kun was the quiet one. He always had dark glasses on. Our teachers have since stopped scolding him because he steadfastly maintained that the glasses were a "family thing."

"Hey, Hinata-chan, do you know what's our first class?" Kiba-kun asked me.

As if on cue, the door burst open, but a teacher didn't enter. A student I've never seen before came in. He had flaming red hair and icy blue-green eyes. As he passed, our eyes met, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. He took the seat behind me, I could feel his eyes boring into my back, making me feel queasy.

The door burst open again, and a woman with wavy purple hair strode in. "Hello, class!" she greeted cheerfully. "My name is Mitarashi Anko. That's Anko-sensei to you kids!"

"Hey, who're you calling kids?" Uzumaki Naruto stood up, pointing at Anko-sensei. I smiled to myself. Naruto-kun was always a little enthusiastic. "We're all seventeen here, for your information!"

"Sit down!" Anko-sensei turned to him. I cringed in my seat. She was scary, with the way she scowled at Naruto-kun. "Listen up! I'm your adviser and your Math teacher!"

The whole class gasped, including me. "The passing score was originally seventy percent, but thanks to your classmate here—" she glared at Naruto-kun "—I will raise it to seventy-five!"

The class groaned. A few glared at Naruto-kun. Anko-sensei saw the glares and laughed— or more like cackled. I truly was scared of her right now.

"Anyone who fails, Anko-sensei continued, "will stay to talk to me after class!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. If ever I failed, Anko-sensei will only talk to me. Or so I thought…

"We will talk about your punishment!"

I whimpered, fiddling with my hands under the desk. This was bad. Math was my worst subject.

"Don't worry, Hina-chan," Shino-kun whispered, leaning to me. "She won't kill us anyway."

I smiled faintly. That was little comfort, but it felt nice when Shino-kun reassured me. I glanced over at him. He was leaning far back in his seat with his arms folded. With those glasses on, I couldn't see whether or not he was looking at Anko-sensei or at something else.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Naruto-kun protested, standing up again. "Seventy-five percent passing grade! No one could pass those standards! That's totally unfair!"

Go, naruto-kun! Ask her to lower the passing grade!

"That's not true!" Yamanaka Ino spoke loudly. "_My _Sasuke-kun could perfect any subject, any test, any time!"

"That Sasuke baka can't stand up to me when it comes to academics!" Naruto-kun faced Ino-san, his eyes blazing. Naruto-kun's always been rivals with Sasuke when he learned that Sakura-san liked Uchiha-san.

I cringed lower in my seat. I sure hope Anko-sensei would just calmly stop them…

But I was wrong.

"STOP IT YOU TWO!" Anko-sensei exploded. Was it me, or did flames just shoot out from her nostrils just then? "DETENTION UNTIL SIX! HOW SHAMEFUL! SUCH BEHAVIOR WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! YOU OUGHT TO KNOW BETTER! SIT DOWN, UZUMAKI, OR I'LL MAKE YOU WASH THE SECOND-FLOOR BATHROOMS!"

Naruto-kun practically shrank down in his seat, away from Anko-sensei's wrath.

Anko-sensei took deep breaths and spoke in a calmer tone. "There is, however, one student in my class last year. Their passing grade was also seventy-five percent, but he managed to exceed."

I think it's Neji-niisan she's talking about. Father had been exceedingly happy over the grades he brought home last year and adopted him on the spot. Father always favored Neji-niisan because his grades were outstanding and he was an excellent student. No teacher in Konoha High has not heard of him, and he also has his own fan club, like Uchiha-san. In a way, he was larger than life. But to me, he was the same sweet, stern, and protective person I know.

"His name is Hyuuga Neji," Anko-sensei continued. "And as I understand, Hyuuga Hinata, he is your cousin… er... brother, correct?"

I squirmed in my seat as most of the girls turned to me. And Anko-sensei was also looking at me. "Y-yes," I choked out.

Anko-sensei nodded with a grunt. "Anyway, I will call out your names and you will answer present when your name is mentioned. Aburame Shino."

"Present."

"Akimichi Chouji."

I saw Chouji-kun hastily stuff a potato chip in his mouth before answering.

"You better put away those bags of chips, Akimichi, or else share them with the class," Anko-sensei said without looking up.

"Y-yes, Ma'am," Chouji-kun said, hastily replacing his food inside his backpack.

It went on that way, until the bell rang, and Anko-sensei left.

**-o0o-**

A/N: Next chapter! Yay! XD This chapter took up almost five pages in yellow pad. Just a trivia, I always write chapters in longhand before I type them. It makes the fic more… personal, I guess.

Anyway, what do you think? Aren't scary senseis one of the best parts of your life? I mean, for me, they are. They make high school life more interesting. I sincerely believe that no high school is complete without a terror teacher. XD Especially in Math. Read and review, guys! Thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter!


	3. Acknowledgement

I sat back in my seat after Anko-sensei left, feeling very much relieved. I was quite sure no other teacher was scarier than her, so I didn't worry much about the other teachers.

Speaking of other teacher, where was the next? I consulted my schedule. English, one of my favorite subjects, was coming up. I sure hope our next sensei will be good.

I turned to my friends. Kiba-kun was already talking to the red-haired boy behind me. I smiled to myself. He and Naruto-kun were somewhat alike in that respect: both of them were talkative.

Kiba-kun was quizzing the boy about himself. It looked like the redhead was starting to get annoyed; a nerve was twitching in his temple, and his answers were monosyllabic.

"Hey," Kiba-kun said, "are you from another section?"

"No," the boy answered, his arms crossed.

"Another school?"

"Yes."

"Oh! So that's why I've never seen you around before! But the school doesn't accept transferees in the first section; that only happens when you're a freshman! Wow! You must be really smart! Are you smart?"

"Hn."

"What school are you from, then? Honmaru? Japoness? Mishima?"

"Hn."

"Kiba-kun," I interrupted his barrage of questions. "Don't—don't you think he's—"

Before I could finish, Kiba-kun clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, Hinata-chan! Let me introduce you to… uh… what did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't say," the boy replied.

I looked at him, feeling a little shy, and offered him a smile. "What—what's your name?" I asked hesitantly.

He looked at me straight in the eye. I tried to avoid his piercing gaze, but couldn't… I was drawn by those somewhat sad eyes. For a moment, I felt an electric current spark between us. The room felt strangely heavy. It was almost eerie, like entering an empty cathedral.

The boy broke the spell first. "My name," he said, carefully enunciating each word, "is Sabaku Gaara. What is yours?"

"I'm pleased to meet you, Sabaku-san," I said, inclining my head. "I am Hyuuga Hinata."

"Gaara," he said.

"Uh… what?" I asked, baffled. Why would he repeat his name when he already gave it to me?

"Call me Gaara, Hyuuga-san. I do not like to be bothered by suffixes," he said.

I smiled at him again. He was a little serious, but he was all right. I think he's a lot like Shino-kun. Shino-kun knows more than he lets on, and there are many layers to him.

For the first time, I made a deal with someone. And with Gaara, no less! "I will call you Gaara only if you stop calling me by my last name." I held out a hand to him.

"I understand… Hinata-san." He looked at my hand for a moment, then slowly brought his hand to shake mine.

"That's a start," I said happily.

"Hey!" Kiba-kun suddenly exclaimed. "How come you talk a lot more with Hinata-chan?"

"Hn," Gaara replied.

"Nobody really enjoys talking to a blabbermouth, Kiba. Your species are too loud," Shino-kun said from his seat behind Kiba-kun.

"Hey, repeat that again, bug boy! You want your face up in my ass?" Kiba-kun asked hotly.

"Um, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun…" I started worriedly.

"Of course, _Hinata-chan _likes blabbermouths, especially blond ones who have a talent for getting on people's nerves," Shino-kun said, ignoring Kiba-kun's… comment and looking at me. "Isn't that right?"

I immediately turned red and looked away. "Um, well… I don't know what you're talking about, Shino-kun," I said, poking my fingers together. Really, Shino-kun can sometimes be a pain. Even though he's silent most of the time, he still loves to tease about my crush on Naruto-kun five years ago, when we were twelve. I can't believe Shino-kun still remembered that!

"Isn't that right?" Shino-kun repeated, more forcefully.

I poked my fingers some more. "Not anymore, Shino-kun…" It's true! Well, for the most part, the crush was gone, and only a lingering admiration remained. I sneaked a peek at Gaara out of the corner of my eye. He was watching me with those shards of ice as eyes.

Wait a minute… Watching me? I blushed furiously as I turned abruptly and buried my face in a textbook. Why should he be watching me? Maybe I was imagining it… Why would anyone spare a glance at me, anyway?

"Aw man, Hinata-chan! You're still not over that dobe, then?" Kiba-kun asked incredulously.

I looked up at Kiba-kun surprised. "What are you..." I started to say, but stopped. He must have mistaken my blush as a sign that I still like Naruto-kun!

"No, that's not true, Kiba-kun!" I said hastily. I looked at Shino-kun for support, but he had his hand held out at Kiba-kun's face. Kiba-kun reluctantly dropped some bills in Shino-kun's outstretched hand.

"What's going on here?" I demanded, looking at one guilty face to another.

"They had a deal whether or not you still like that Naruto," Gaara said, with a hint of something like contempt in his voice.

I looked at him for a moment, amazed. How did he come up with that? I turned to Kiba-kun and Shino-kun. "Is this true?" I asked.

Kiba-kun hung his head. "Well… Sort of…" he mumbled sheepishly. "Bug boy and I made a bet three years ago, when you told us that you didn't have a crush on Naruto baka anymore."

I sighed. it was really harmless, I know, since it was three years ago and it didn't really matter to me. But I couldn't help but feel a little irritated at both of them. I glanced at Kiba-kun's cheeks. I knew he hated to be pinched.

"Come here, Kiba-kun," I said. "I want to tell you something."

I fought for a straight face as Kiba-kun obliged, and I placed my mouth near his ear. He leaned in closer, and letting out a yell, I proceeded to pinch his cheeks really hard. I sat back, satisfied and giggling, as Kiba-kun let out a howl and glared at me.

"Hey dog boy! Shut it!" someone from the front said. Kiba-kun glared at him then turned to me, rubbing his cheek.

"How come only I get pinched?" Kiba-kun complained.

"Because Shino-kun has no cheeks," I answered.

"Hn. I'll take that as a compliment," Shino-kun said, folding his arms.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a silver-haired sensei with a mask entered the room. I shook my head. Konoha High was really diverse.

"Yo," he raised a hand in greeting. "Sorry I'm late. My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I'll be your English teacher." As he leaned forward, a book fell out of his pocket.

Haruno Sakura, who was in front, picked up the book. She tucked her pink hair behind her ear and her green eyes widened. "Icha Icha Paradise!" she said a little too loudly, reading the book's title.

There was approving guffaws from the boys, and shocked gasps from the girls. I was only mildly surprised. Icha Icha Paradise was a porn book, but I wasn't foreign with it. I saw Neji-niisan with a copy in his hands last year.

Kakashi-sensei snatched the book out of Sakura-san's hands and stuffed it inside his pocket. He rubbed the back of his neck apologetically. "Who was your English awardee last year and who here has English as a favorite subject? Come on, raise your hands."

Some people chorused, "Hyuuga Hinata!"

I was embarrassed.

Kakashi-sensei lifted a visible brow. "Who is the Hyuuga Hinata?"

I timidly raised my hand. A part of me was embarrassed, but a bigger part was pleased with the acknowledgement.

"Good!" Kakashi-sensei clapped his hands together. "I have a special job for you."

Just then, Uchiha-san and Gaara raised their hands.

"Oh? More enthusiasts? Well, then!"

Seeing Uchiha-san raise his hand, many of the girls did too.

Kakashi-sensei held up his hands, chuckling. "Hyuuga Hinata and the two boys…" he consulted the seat plan "…Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku Gaara are enough for the job that I have in mind." His eye twinkled.

What could be the job that Kakashi-sensei wants us to do?

He perched on the edge of the teacher's desk. "You have a project to be passed on the first week of March."

The class groaned, but it only made Kakashi-sensei happier.

"You will be assigned to you groups with five members each—assign your group leader—and you will make…" he paused for emphasis "…a novel or a play, depending on your choice. You will then act your works out in a play. You can videotape it or act it live in the classroom."

The groans were louder this time.

"Hey, Hina-chan, I sure hope I get to be in your group!" Kiba-kun said.

"You'll only let me do all the writing, I bet," I teased him. I suppose if I did all the writing, it wouldn't be too bad. But that wouldn't be fair to the other members of the group.

"Settle down, settle down," Kakashi-sensei said in a bored voice. The noise level dropped a few bars. He studied the seat plan. "Now, remember who all your groupmates are. First group: Yamanaka Ino, Aburame Shino, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"In your face, Forehead Girl!" Ino-san shouted to Sakura-san. Sakura-san shouted something unintelligible and they both began bickering again.

I scribbled down the names of my groupmates and turned to smile at Shino-kun. He smiled back and gave a funny little wave, which made me laugh.

"Aww, you're not my groupmate, Hina-chan! Now I won't get a decent grade on the project!" Kiba-kun wailed.

"Don't worry, Kiba-kun!" I consoled him. "I'm sure you have equally capable groupmates!"

Kakashi-sensei was calling out the next group. The whole class was buzzing with noise, but I heard a… derisive… snort behind me.

I turned to Gaara. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

He looked away but thrust a piece of paper at me. I took it, curious. Scrawled in small letters were the names of his groupmates.

I gave the paper back to him. "Don't worry, Gaara-kun—I mean, Gaara!" I added, anxious to fulfill my part of our little "deal." I gave him what I hope was a reassuring smile. "Since you're new here, you can make friends with your groupmates. After all, they are quite friendly people," I told him, smiling.

He shrugged and looked away. "Whatever."

"Cheer up!" I chuckled. "Tell you what—have lunch with us later!"

His eyes traveled to me. "I prefer to eat alone."

I tried not to let my disappointment show. "Okay, but the offer still stands as long as you want it," I told him glumly. I turned back to Shino-kun and Kiba-kun.

**-o0o-**

A/N: Wow! Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! A special shout out (guess I'm watching too much Studio Disney) to **Shanice Radcliffe**, who proved she reads the whole fic, up to the author's note. XD And also to **DemonFirGirlHotaru**… My, my, wasn't that a long review! One that I especially enjoyed. And lastly, to **shikaruTo**! Thanks! I love you for reading it too!

Anyway, this chapter is pretty much a turning point, especially since it'll revolve around that project Kakashi-sensei wants. Hmm… Pretty big order, don't ya think? Who'll be Hinata's group's leader? Who'll be her assistant? What are they going to do, a novel, or a play? When's the road trip?


	4. Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

A/N: Omigod! XD Thank you so much for your highly encouraging reviews! Because I'm a career woman (with a writing career in every update is my payday! And man, did I ever get lotsa pay! XD So now I'm trying to return the favor by answering some reviews from the last chapter. Anyway…

**shikaruTo: **Thanks! Love ya for reviewing too! XD I'll update as soon as I get enough reviews. –chibi grin-

**DemonFireGirlHotaru: **Wow, I'm an exception! Glad to hear that. ;) You'll see more of Sasuke in this one! XD And maybe Shino… I was thinking of a ShinoHina, GaaHina, SasuHina thing… Oh well… Whaddaya think?

**Xoni Newcomer: **-scratches head- Oh, yeah, that nervous thing in the first chapter. XD Totally forgot bout that. Hinata and Neji, too cheerful and outgoing? Well… Hinata's cheerful and outgoing with Kiba and Shino and Neji (and a little to Gaara because he's new)… And Neji, because he's with Hinata. About Sasuke raising his hand… I was trying to emphasize that he and Gaara raised their hands as soon as they heard Kakashi mention that he had a special job for Hinata. Should've put in much more emphasis though. Anyway, that 'special project…' Sasuke doesn't know about that.

**Lunarangel: **About Kiba being pinched… Well, I sorta kinda made that up. XD I just noticed in a pic of his that he has quite 'pinchable' cheeks… so there… XD Ah, the road trip. Well, we'll see about that! Heheh… And also their novel thingy too… I'm not exactly sure about that yet, I'm only writing the chapters as I go along.

**Shanice: **Ei Ate! XD About the mention, you're welcome. Heheh… Thanks for the comment on my tagboard in Xanga too! XD

**Chibi Tetra: **Wow! It's you…! –eyes bug out- Hahaha! Thanks! I'll go go go! XD

**Muchachangistariray: **Hmm… Are you a Filipina too? XD Anyway, thanks for the review! And I've updated Alone No More too for ya! –chibi grin-

**Khmer shinobi: **Woohoo! Asian pride, yeah! XD Well, Sasuke and Gaara raised their hands because of Hinata… Well, I'm trying to make it a subtle emphasis or something… Bah… XD Aww, you're not a bother, man! Shanaro…! (weh, dunno what that means, but what the hey)

* * *

"Miss Hyuuga, Mister Uchiha and Mister Sabaku, may I please talk with you for a moment?" Kakashi-sensei called over the din.

I stood up. As I passed the center aisle, some looked at me, a little enviously. I hung my head as I walked, and followed Kakashi-sensei to the corridor. Uchiha-san and Gaara followed.

"I'm going to give you three a project," Kakashi-sensei said, looking down on us.

"Isn't that novel enough?" Uchiha-san asked, his eyes narrowed. He didn't look happy about getting an extra project for English! I wanted to ask him why, but I didn't want to seem rude or forward, so I didn't say anything.

"That's connected with it." Kakashi-sensei looked amused at Uchiha-san's annoyance.

"I want you three to help me judge and grade your classmates' projects."

I gasped. This was really great! I was going to be a student assistant to our English teacher! I was highly excited. I wanted to wring Kakashi-sensei's hands or maybe give him a good hug around the middle, but I fiddled with my uniform instead, trying to hide a big grin.

"But—" Uchiha-san started to say, but the words came rushing out of my mouth before I could stop them. Word vomit.

"Thank you so much, Kakashi-sensei! I'll do my best! Thank you so much! Thank you!" I bowed, feeling extremely grateful. He trusted usenough to make us help him judge projects! I love English! I love Kakashi-sensei!

Kakashi-sensei smiled. At least, I think so. It was hard to tell, unless you look at his eyes. "No problem, Hinata." He looked at Uchiha-san and Gaara. "Well?"

"All right," they muttered, not looking at Kakashi-sensei.

"After the deadline of submissions, you three head straight to the faculty room every afternoon and start reading." Catching the questioning look on Uchiha-san's face, he added, "I'm telling you now so I don't have to later. That's all."

I bowed again to Kakashi-sensei. He patted the top of my head and headed for his next class, taking out his Icha Icha Paradise while walking.

I stood, looking after him and smiling. It was a good thing Anko-sensei wasn't our English teacher. When he disappeared around the corner, I turned to the door. Startled, I almost took a step back. Uchiha-san and Gaara were staring at me, unmoving. The intensity of their stares frightened me a little. I really wasn't used to being looked at that way.

"Um… We should be returning to our room, ne?" I ventured, feeling queasy as a pair of black eyes and another pair of blue-green eyes met my white ones. Their eyes were unreadable. It was like their emotions were hidden behind layers and layers of curtains…

"Right," they said, and turned back.

"Ne, Uchiha-san," I said, a little timidly. Many girls in school liked Uchiha-san because he was extremely good-looking and… what was the word Ino-san and Sakura-san used? Mysterious. He was good-looking and mysterious. But he was also quite grumpy. I was surprised he volunteered for this English thing; I was so sure Math was his forte.

Uchiha-san stopped and turned to me. Out of the corner of my eye, Gaara halted for a moment then slowly entered the room. "Yes?" he asked, focusing his eyes on me. I suddenly felt self-conscious.

"A-Ano… I'm sorry for-for interrupting you l-like that earlier…" I said, bowing. I mentally kicked myself. My voice sounded weak, small, and afraid. Neji-niisan had often told me to sound confident even when I'm not.

"It doesn't matter," he said. He turned to go, but then stopped. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't bite," he said. He walked a few steps then stopped again, as if he remembered something. "Oh and… Call me Sasuke," he added, without looking back at me.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I was alone in the corridor then, a little astonished at my exchange with Uchiha-san—Sasuke-san from now on. At least, that was a start. We were certainly going to spend a lot of time together with our group for our English project. I smiled to myself. I couldn't wait to start the project!

I shook my head, and then hurried to the room. I caught sight of Iruka-sensei walking down the hall. I bowed in his direction. "Ohayou, Iruka-sensei," I greeted him.

He smiled and returned my bow. "Ohayou, Hinata-chan."

I went inside the room and returned to my seat.

"Hey," Kiba-kun said, leaning forward. "What did Kakashi-sensei tell you back there?"

I started to reply, but the door opened, and Iruka-sensei went in,

There came a big cheer from the class. Iruka-sensei was one of the most loved teachers in Konoha High. Naruto-kun was especially attached to Iruka-sensei and Iruka-sensei to him. He had brown eyes and his hair was always tied. He had a scar on the bridge of his nose. He was always ready to smile, and was a patient and understanding teacher.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto-kun yelled, waving his hands in the air. "Are you going to be our teacher? Ne, Iruka-sensei!"

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura-san yelled, annoyed at Naruto-kun's behavior.

Iruka-sensei put down his papers and smiled at the class. The noise died down gradually. All of us were hanging on his words.

"Ohayou," he said. "My name is Umino Iruka, and I will be teaching Science. To begin, starting from this row to the back, I want you to introduce yourself and tell a little something about you."

"But we already know you, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto-kun pouted. "Let's skip this part and go straight to the lessons! I'll prove that I'm better than Sasuke!"

"Oi, shut up Naruto!" Ino-san and Sakura-san yelled at the same time. "Sasuke is way better than you!"

"Now, now, students," Iruka-sensei said, a warning tone in his voice. They immediately quieted.

I listened as the first person, Terachi Haruko, stood up and introduced herself. After she had finished, the next one stood up. I watched Iruka-sensei while listening. He was walking from place to place, mainly to where the person standing up was.

I let my mind wander, looking for ideas for the English project. A novel or a play… Which was better? A novel can tell more and make the readers sympathize more. On the other hand, it would also be hard to translate into a script. A play is easier to write and convenient because it'll double as a script. But it'll also be hard to sketch the personalities of each character. I started doodling on the back of my notebook, jotting ideas here and there.

I snapped back to the class when I heard Kiba-kun introduce himself. It wasn't hard to hear him because of his strong, clear voice. When he sat down, I stood up slowly. My palms started to sweat. I knew the whole class was listening to me, and that made me even more nervous.

"My name is-is Hyuuga Hinata," I said, feeling nervous. "I... Um...Love to c-cook and write. Some-someday, I want to be a doctor so I could... he-help people." Ugh. I stuttered again!

Iruka-sensei, who was standing slightly before me, nodded deeply and smiled. "A noble aspiration, Hinata-chan."

He really had a way of making his students comfortable! I smiled back at him.He was a good man, but he lived alone. Most of us felt he really deserved a partner for life. Whoever that would be, I'm sure that person would be very, very lucky to have Iruka-sensei.

The bell rang just as the last person finished.

"I'll see you tomorrow, class," Iruka-sensei said, and gathering his papers from the table, went out.

The next period was lunch. I put my notebook back in my bag and stood up.

"I'll take your bag, Hinata-chan," Shino-kun said. I smiled at him. That was really sweet of him!

"Hey, I'll take Hina-chan's bag!" Kiba-kun protested.

"Move it," said Gaara behind us, sounding annoyed.

I sidled to give him way, but Kiba-kun remained where he was, blocking Gaara's way.

"No way! You can use the center aisle, dolt!" Kiba-kun said, irritated.

"This is nearer the door," Gaara replied coldly.

"I'm not moving," Kiba-kun glared at Gaara, and crossed his arms.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. He looked very dangerous.

"Um…" I started to say, but Shino-kun silenced me with a warning look, telling me without words not to interfere. I looked fearfully at both of them, afraid that a fight might break out.

"Hinata-chan."

I looked at the doorway. "Neji-niisan!" I cried out, relieved. I ran to him.

Gaara passed by me, glancing at me as he walked past.

I couldn't bring myself to say anything. Maybe I didn't need to, anyway.

"…I don't like him," Neji-niisan said. "Let's go." He took my bag.

"Thank you," I smiled at him. We started walking to our usual spot every year, a table next to the old mango tree by the fountain. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun walked behind us.

"How's your morning?" Neji-niisan asked.

"It was interesting, especially our teachers," I told him. "Anko-sensei was our Math teacher, and she mentioned you."

His eyebrow rose. "Oh? What did she say?"

"About you passing the seventy-five percent passing grade," I replied, feeling proud of Neji-niisan. I guess this was what Father felt when he saw Neji-niisan's grades.

He shrugged. "Go on."

"Anyway, our second-period English is Kakashi-sensei." I tugged at his sleeve and he bent down a little. "He also has an Icha Icha Paradise," I whispered in his ear.

Neji-niisan straightened up, blushing a little. "I got that from him," he mumbled.

I poked him in the ribs. "So now you're sukebe too?" I giggled at the thought. Straight, modest, decorous Neji-niisan—a pervert! That could never, ever be! I shook my head, still giggling.

"Hey," he pretended to glare. "I really thought that was an innocent book. He made me write a book report on it."

"He didn't!" I exclaimed, surprised—scratch that, I was shocked!

"He did," Neji-niisan answered, head bowed. "Apparently, he does it to the Math awardee in the room. Of course, I wasn't supposed to tell it to anyone, but I know you wouldn't."

I sighed. "Thanks for the trust, nii-san. You're right; I can't possibly repeat what you said to anyone. I should think that was too much information!" I smiled weakly at him, and then suddenly started as a sudden thought entered my mind. "Then Kakashi-sensei might make Sasuke-san do a book report on it too!"

"He most probably will. I hope Uchiha doesn't break into little pieces. The stuff's pretty hardcore," Neji-niisan said, stopping in front of our table. He put my bag down on the spare seat. "I'll see you at the school gate later," he said.

"Alright," I said, and he walked away to his own table.

"Geez," Kiba-kun said, sounding a little irritated. "You're a junior and he sill walks you to your lunch table like you're in first grade."

"Speak for yourself, Inuzuka," a classmate of ours, Tsunagi Kishide, said from the next table. "What Neji-sama's doing is _so _romantic!" She smiled at me, and I smiled back. She turned back to her lunch.

"Neji-sama?" Kiba-kun repeated, disbelief in his face. He shook his head. "Yeah, right…"

We laid out our lunches on the table.

"I need to pee," Kiba-kun suddenly said. He stood up and half-jogged to the building.

I looked at our lunches and sighed. Where was Gaara having lunch? He looked like the loner type, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised and a little disappointed when he declined my offer.

"Why the sad face, Hinata-chan?" Shino-kun asked.

I heaved a sigh and shrugged lightly. "Well, I asked Gaara to have lunch with us, but—"

"Can I sit here?" a cool voice asked.

I turned, hoping it was Gaara.

"Gaara!" I exclaimed, surprised and happy. I took my bag off the spare seat and put it down. "Please, join us!"

He sat down quietly and unpacked his lunch. Then he looked at me questioningly.

"We're just going to wait for Kiba-kun," I said, knowing that he was asking when we were going to eat.

He nodded and looked away.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Kiba-kun sat down, panting slightly. For a moment, I was afraid he would make Gaara go away. He caught sight of Gaara. "Hey, Gaara!" he said cheerfully, the hostilities earlier forgotten.

I breathed a small sigh of relief. Beside me, he nodded.

Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and I exchanged glances, and then said in perfect unison, "itadakimasu!"

We started eating. "Hey, Hina-chan," said Kiba-kun while chewing, his mouth a little full. "What did Kakashi-sensei say earlier?" He swallowed.

"Oh, he wanted us to help him—" I paused a little as Gaara's foot nudged mine from under the table.

"He wanted us to write an essay for a competition," Gaara said emotionlessly. I looked at him from the corner of my eye. He was a good liar. He met my eye and looked away.

"A competition? At this time of the school year?" Kiba-kun asked incredulously. "Wow, they sure know how to cut students some slack." He snorted lightly.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei wants to prepare early," I said lamely. I looked at Shino-kun. He was eating, but I could feel his eyes on me. I concentrated on my food.

"Hinata-chan." Neji-niisan suddenly appeared beside me. He glanced over at Gaara, and then to me.

"Nii-san!" I said, a little surprised.

"Man, don't scare us like that!" Kiba-kun gasped out, coughing a little. He must have choked in surprise. Shino-kun patted his back.

"Hn," Neji-niisan said. "Here, I forgot to give these," he said, handing a small package wrapped in foil. It was still a little warm.

"Thank you," I said, grateful. One touch of the package and I knew instantly they were cookies. He was trying his hand in baking. "Now I can judge if you've improved," I teased him. "Martial arts is one thing, this is another." For some reason, Neji-niisan didn't want me mentioning his dabble in baking. Pride, I guess.

He shrugged, and walked away.

I opened the package, and just as I thought, five moist cookies sat in their glory, waiting to be eaten. Mint chocolate chip, my favorite! I inhaled its aroma, and then wrinkled my nose. Something was not right, but I trust Neji-niisan was an able baker. He did everything well.I held out the package to Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and Gaara and invited them to take one.

Kiba-kun looked at the cookie dubiously. "Is this safe?"

"Of course," I replied smilingly. I noticed there were three cookies left.

"Gaara, take one," I invited him.

"Hn."

"Go on," I cajoled him. "I taught nii-san how to make these." I waggled my eyebrows. "And I'm a really good teacher."

Shino-kun chuckled, and Kiba-kun smiled.

Gaara stared at the cookies.

Kiba-kun thumped the table impatiently. "C'mon, get one, for God's sake! And let Hinata-chan eat!"

I caught Gaara give a glare to Kiba-kun, and took a cookie slowly, grudgingly. I smiled inwardly. I agreed with Kiba-kun, but I didn't say anything.

Kiba-kun and Shino-kun took a bite. Immediately, they started coughing and choking. Both of them spat it out.

"What's wrong?" I cried. I pushed their drinks nearer.

Kiba-kun grabbed his soda can, emptying it in one gulp. He thumped his chest. He glared at Neji-niisan's table, which was a little way away. "Dammit," he cursed.

Shino-kun drank his water, and cleared his throat. He pushed the rest of the cookie away from him.

"What did Neji use as a flavoring?" Kiba-kun asked, looking irritated.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" I asked worriedly. I took one cookie and started to bring it to my mouth, but Kiba-kun stopped me.

"Noo!" he said, grabbing my hand. "Don't bother, Hinata-chan. If this is a sort of baking test, give your cousin a big, fat F."

"How could I know if I don't taste it?" I asked. I took a bite.

"Don't say Kiba didn't warn you," Shino-kun said.

"Water!" I choked out. I coughed and tried to swallow. My mouth felt like it was on fire.

Gaara thumped my back. "Spit it out," he ordered. "Swallowing won't do any good."

I did as he told, and felt bad for dirtying the ground. He pushed my juice to me, and I drank it all.

"The hell…" Kiba-kun said, a little dazed. "That was one crap of a cookie."

"This time, I agree," Shino-kun said quietly. He coughed a little. "The taste still isn't gone from my mouth."

I sighed. "I guess Neji-niisan still wasn't fully awake when he did this."


	5. Appraisal

A/N: I will never, ever tire of thanking you for your reviews, so don't tire of reviewing me too! Thanks so much! Sorry about the delay in updating, though… We still have that leadership training for our fourth year.

**khmer shinobi: **Now you're going to find out what he put in the cookies hahaha… I really don't know what it tastes like when you accidentally put globs of it in a cookie batter, but all the same, I think it's enough instead of putting too much mint that the cookies taste like toothpaste. Ah, I made you choke on my breakfast! Woohoo! Mad props to me, then! XP Cheers!

**Shanice Miharu: **My classmate suggested that book report thing… I'm really glad it worked out well! XD I just thought that Neji should really suck at one thing, and it just so happens to be baking! Thanks so much! _Tc rin po lagi! _

**Xoni Newcomer: **Thanks so much for the constructive criticism! Let's see… I already worked out the problem of Gaara being new and the tension you mentioned. (Hey, that rhymed! XD) As for Neji disliking Gaara, that's bound to come up in a while, because it's Hinata's point of view, and I felt that I shouldn't immediately give an explanation to every detail. Sasuke's speculations in the next chapter will probably give a hint, though.

**DemonFireGirlHotaru: **My God, my frostbitten fingers were given hell typing your pen name. But, hey, you write very good (and very long) reviews, so it was well worth it! Anyway, don't worry about the Icha Icha Paradise and Sasuke, I'm going to write it in his point of view so we can look at his reaction better. Hmm… About Shino… I'll have to agree with you and Xoni Newcomer on that one, so I won't throw Shino to the fray. But he'll be like a very best friend, a big brother, and a sort of guardian combined, though not as overprotective as Neji is. I'm so happy that you think it's great! –hug-

**Moonsnow Neko: **What! They are not disgusting! At least, not for me. XD Anyways, I read your story! It's very good, and I want to see what happens when Suzuki goes to the festival. Oh man… I forgot if I've reviewed it, please tell me if I hadn't done so yet!

**lunarangel: **That's a cookie with disaster written in invisible ink all over it. XD Lol, Neji sucks so bad at baking. Hmm… If Kakashi wasn't a pervert, then it wouldn't be the same! And Gaara… he probably wanted to see what the cookie would taste like before he ate it. And yeah, Kiba has pinchable cheeks! I think I'd probably make Hinata pinch him when she's not happy with something he did but doesn't have the guts to tell. Thanks so much for your review!

**nightxXxshade: **Whaaa XD 75 percent is so not a good thing. x.X Especially in Math! Wahahaha omg I need a life. XD Ja!

**chinadoll27: **Thanks! I'm glad you like the cookie part. Truthfully, I'm not really amused when I read the cookie part… Probably because I'm the one who wrote it. Anyway, if it makes you laugh, then I'm happy! And also, thanks for your reviews on _Alone No More_! I really appreciate it!

**shikaruTo: **Thanks! Wow, I never knew I was like that with Neji. I just envision him as Hinata's big brother figure (well, duh! Hiashi _did _adopt Neji, so technically, Neji is Hinata's big brother ahahah oh man I need to get out more), and I like torturing him in small ways. Wow, you're Asian too? Ahahah, Asian pride! Well, as I said before I won't (to quote DFGH) throw Shino into the mix (end quote), but he's a sort of all-seeing character there.

**Scented Candles: **Thanks so much! You have faith in me, don't ya? I'll do my best to make this as entertaining as possible. Hmm… Maybe you're right, it'll be awkward for Shino to suddenly try and catch her attention, so… Yah. And btw, are you the lei who posted in my tagboard in my Xanga? If you are, your LJ is sooo cute! I love the layout!

**Jasmine Starlight: **Whaaaa! XD You like Asian Kung-fu Generation too? That's my favorite band! Whaaa! I can't believe it! I love them so much! Anyway, I'm probably going to add a concert (SPOILER ALERT!) from AKG, just because I love them soo much!

**newblue: **Hi there! Thanks so much for the review!

* * *

We finished eating our lunches, and were tidying up our own table when the bell rang.

We joined the crowd of students jostling through the corridor, going to their rooms before the second bell rang.

Shino-kun and I were walking behind Kiba-kun and Gaara. Suddenly a hand pulled me to a side corridor, where there were fewer people. For one wild moment, I felt terror, but that didn't last long as I looked up to see Shino-kun, who was still holding my forearm.

"Shi-Shino-kun?" I asked. My heart was still beating a little fast. Why was he doing this? What is he going to say or do? What is this about? Is something bothering him?

"Hinata-chan, you're hiding something."

"Nani?" I asked, confused. What was I hiding? I couldn't remember if I didn't tell anything to Shino-kun. He knew all about me; either I told him, or he persuaded me to tell, because he knew I wasn't telling.

"You were about to say something on that English thing, but Gaara interrupted you." He said it matter-of-factly.

Oh, that English thing. Shino-kun was a good observer. I suppose why Gaara cut me off was because he felt it wasn't our place to tell.

"Well," I poked my fingers together. "You're my groupmate, so I suppose it really won't hurt…"

"Go on," he said quietly.

"Well… You see… Kakashi-sensei asked the three of us to grade the novels that our classmates will pass."

Shino-kun gave a low whistle, and then shrugged. "That's a pretty big order. Are you sure you can handle this? And how can Kakashi-sensei put Gaara to the job, when Gaara's new here?"

I cocked my head to one side, thinking. I entirely forgot that Gaara was new! Well… By the time the submission deadline comes, Gaara won't be new anymore. But still… I wonder why Kakashi-sensei did let Gaara do it. "Hai, Shino-kun, I can handle it. It'll be the four of us in there, anyway," I said softly. "As for Gaara-san—Gaara—maybe Kakashi-sensei forgot that he was new…?"

"Maybe," Shino-kun conceded. "Anyway," he looked at me seriously. I think he did… I could feel his eyes on me. "I trust you'll be fair about this. You always are at everything."

"Hai…" I felt my cheeks redden a little at the compliment.

"Come on, then," he said, briskly walking to our room. "I think we're already late." The crowd had thinned considerably.

The second bell rang, signaling that lunch break was over and classes were about to start. The first bell after lunch break was a warning. We increased our pace. We met a charcoal-haired sensei with rather unique red eyes. She was really pretty, with full, red lips that gave a soft smile.

We bowed to her. "Good afternoon, sensei," we said.

"Good afternoon." She returned the bow.

We stood aside to let her pass first, and then rushed to our chairs.

"Where were you?" I heard Kiba-kun hiss to Shino-kun.

"Good afternoon class," she said in a smooth voice. I could see some of the boys lean forward eagerly. "I'm Yuuhi Kurenai, and my subject is Home Economics."

Home Economics was my next favorite subject, after English!

"The subject shall cover the following areas: Practical Arts, which includes cooking, handicrafts, basic electronic and household repairs, and recycling. For our Theoretical Arts, we have farming, poultry raising, and also cooking. Are there any questions?"

I smiled to myself. Cooking in Home Economics was the primary reason I liked the subject. Truthfully, I was better in cooking than martial arts any day.

A boy raised his hand. It was Subido Kouichi, the junior vice-president of the judo club in school. "Yuuhi-sensei?"

Kurenai-sensei turned her red eyes on him. "Yes?" She consulted the seat plan. "Subido Kouichi, correct?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I have no problem about the other areas in our Practical Arts. But… Basic electronic and household repairs? Are you sure you can teach that?" He looked up and down at Kurenai-sensei.

I frowned a little. So Subido-san was sexist…

Kurenai-sensei's eyes hardened. "Yes, I am perfectly sure. Do you think I would try to teach something I have no skills in?"

"You're… Just… New here, and female too, that's all," Subido-san said, a frown line appearing on his face,

Murmurs broke out from the room. "I resent that!" Ino-san called out loud.

"Hey, you dobe!" Naruto-kun said, louder than Ino-san. "Don't go around putting down girls like that! Especially senseis!"

"The principal had good reason to put me here, Subido-san," Kurenai-sensei retorted coolly, and the murmurs were turned to hushed whispers. "If you are doubtful of this class, then please, by all means, leave."

Subido-san sat down quietly.

"Well, if there are any more questions—and objections, please raise your hand," Kurenai-sensei said in a level voice.

Nobody raised their hands.

"…Good. Then we understand each other." She bowed to us. "Good day, class." She turned and walked out the room.

When she left, the whole class erupted into talk, mostly on the exchange between Kurenai-sensei and Subido-san.

"Wow, she sure is something, isn't she?" Kiba-kun said. "Not just another pretty face…"

"Tomorrow, we'll find out," said Shino-kun.

I nodded. Remembering something, I turned to face Gaara slightly, avoiding direct eye contact with him. "Gaara, can-can I ask you something?"

"Hn." I took that for a yes.

"Why did you stop me w-when Kiba-kun asked what Kakashi-sensei t-told us?"

"It might leak."

I nodded slowly. I knew what he meant, and it was strange. Even if he doesn't speak more than five syllables, I knew what he was driving at. It was… it was like… I could read him.

Suddenly, the bell rang three times, signaling the end of the day. I tilted my head. It was only one subject, and we were dismissed so early? Why? There instantly was noise from the class. They were also wondering why we were dismissed so early.

The loudspeakers crackled to life, and the voice of our principal came through. "Students, wait for your advisers before going home. That is all." There was a sound of the microphone dropping, and with a burst of feedback, the PA was turned off.

I smiled to myself. I enjoyed early dismissals, especially when it was _this _early. Who wouldn't?

The door banged open, and Anko-sensei marched in, laden with papers and folders. Her hair was up in a clamp, making the ends stick out. She banged her desk three times and the class instantly quieted. Death quiet.

"I will leave the list of cleaners on my desk. Those who are assigned for the day, stay behind and clean the room. Now, make a single line and look for your names here. Today's cleaners, assign a leader and that leader, take charge. Goodbye, class," Anko-sensei instructed loudly and clearly. She picked up her papers and went out the room in a hurry.

Shino-kun, Kiba-kun, and I stayed in our seats as almost everyone else formed the line and looked for their names in Anko-sensei's list. Some crowded around the table, impatient for their turn. There was a lot of noise, and students spilled out from their rooms in the other sections.

"Who do you think our last two subjects are?" Kiba-kun asked, turning in his seat so he faced me and Shino-kun. "They won't be giving out the list of electives until next week."

"I bet it's Hayate," Kiba-kun went on. "Though I wouldn't like sitting in front if it was him. He might have germs," he added, looking at us, and mimicking Hayate-sensei's perpetual cough.

"What about Ibiki-sensei?" I asked.

Kiba-kun shuddered. "I hope not! He has that creepy look and you'd have a hell of a headache if you talked to him."

I giggled a little. "He's not that creepy."

"Come on," Shino-kun said. "The line's getting shorter."

We stood up and fell in line. There were already some students moving the chairs around, sweeping. I saw Shikamaru-san looking out the window, blackboard eraser in hand.

"OI! SHIKAMARU!" yelled Sakura-san. "Get your lazy butt to work!"

Shikamaru-san grumbled something, and I guess he said "troublesome" again.

Kiba-kun and Shino-kun crowded around me when it was my turn. "I'm going to clean tomorrow," Shino-kun said with a little sigh.

"And I'll be on Thursday," Kiba-kun said. He nodded at the list. "Damn, it'll be hard to clean with all those fangirls tittering about him."

Shino-kun nodded. "And probably those from other sections and year levels sticking their faces in the windows."

Kiba-kun snickered. "If they do that, I'll close the windows on their faces."

I smiled and scanned the list. I was a Wednesday cleaner, with... I scanned the list to see someone I was close enough to. Gaara. "Come on," I told them. "Nii-san's waiting by the gate."

"Psh," Kiba-kun said as we walked out the door. "You know, that weird cousin of yours is too overprotective. And a crappy baker," he added. I guess he still hadn't forgotten about the cookies.

"Hinata-chan _is _someone to be protected," Shino-kun said.

I blushed at that, though I didn't want to add something to Shino-kun's comment. "Neji-niisan isn't weird," I said with a smile.

"He's just quiet, Kiba," Shino-kun said. "Anyone quiet to you is weird."

"Yeah, right," Kiba-kun scoffed. "Ne, that Uchiha is also weird too! Imagine having a fanclub since twelve! And he acts like he doesn't really like having one!"

"Twelve? That was the time when Hinata-chan—" I cut Shino-kun short by covering his mouth. Of course, I had to stand a little on my toes to accomplish that. I knew he was going to bring up the subject of Naruto-kun again.

Kiba-kun snorted. "That baka sure was dense. Imagine, almost everyone in school knew, except him. And even now, he still doesn't know! He rolled his eyes. "Once an idiot, always an idiot."

"Don't speak of him like that, Kiba-kun," I pleaded. I really didn't like it when one person calls another names. "He means well."

"Suit yourself, Hinata-chan," Kiba-kun said. We reached the gate. He and Shino-kun went on home together, while Neji-niisan and I went the other way. "Bye!"

"Bye, Kiba-kun! Bye, Shino-kun!" I said. "Kiotsukete!"

Shino-kun help us his hand in a wave, not looking back. I liked it when guys do that. It looked…cool. And… I shrugged to myself and smiled. It really didn't matter.

I turned to see Neji-niisan leaning against the wall. He straightened up when I came nearer.

"I'm sorry for the delay, nii-san," I apologized. "We waited for Anko-sensei and she gave us the list of cleaners."

He shrugged. "It's all right. So… How were my cookies?"

I looked down and sighed. I recognized that eager gleam in his eye, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy failing him. "Well…" I said, careful to keep my voice neutral. I took a deep breath.

"It appears you've used the hot sauce instead of the mint, Neji-niisan," I explained carefully.

He looked at me weirdly for a moment. I was afraid he was going to suddenly bang his head against the wall or something similar. Call me over the top, but sometimes, you really don't know what's going on with Neji-niisan. Finally, he said, "…so that's why…"

I poked my fingers together nervously. Sometimes, I think Neji-niisan will just snap one day. "What—what do you mean?" I asked timidly.

He didn't look at me for a minute, contemplating. "TenTen… and Lee… ran to the garbage can when they took a bite… and then they returned without the cookies. And they refused to take another one," He said faintly and slowly.

"Oh—well, it's all right," I said in what I hoped was a cheery voice. It was a good thing

that he didn't see Kiba-kun and Shino-kun's reaction, I decided. Neji-niisan would probably throw a fit. "Try again! Nobody gets it right the first time anyway. Come on, let's go to the grocery store and buy some more supplies." I pulled him by hand into the grocery store we were passing.

"You don't understand…" I heard him mutter as we went through the sliding doors. Before I could take another step, he stopped me and said, "I'll be by the other aisles."

"Sure," I nodded and went to take a basket. I proceeded to the aisle for baking supplies. As I turned around the corner, I bumped into someone.

"Watch it," he growled. Then the voice quickly added with some surprise, "Hinata-san."

I looked up. "Sasuke-san!" I squeaked in surprise. "I-I'm sorry," I said, averting my eyes.

"It's all right," he said. I thought he was going to leave after that, but he didn't. He stood in front of me, expecting to say something.

I was a miserable conversation starter, but I did my best, anyway. "What-what are you doing here?" I asked, fidgeting with my uniform.

He looked at the basket he was holding, and then back at me. "Stocking my pantry. You?"

"I was going to buy some… flour… a-and stuff for baking," I answered nervously, also a little wary. Who wouldn't? Sasuke-san had a penetrating gaze and his eyes were pools of darkness pulling you down, down…

"Oh? Are you good at baking?" he asked, sounding curious and interested.

Sasuke-san? Curious and interested? For as long as we've been classmates (and that was since first grade), I had never seen or heard of him be interested in something other than Math and extra credit. He was always… Unemotional. Disinterested. Indifferent. Grumpy. You could just imagine my surprise and nervousness when here we were at the grocery, having a somewhat normal conversation.

"Yes, I-I am…" I said, a little proud, and fidgeting more than ever. "I'm going to bake some cookies for tomorrow," I added.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to have some, if that's all right with you."

"S-Sure," I replied, a little astonished. Sasuke-san? Was this really you? Besides the things I've mentioned, I've always pictured him as impatient, curt, and a little snobbish. That was the way he was when dealing with his fangirls. But I guess he really didn't appreciate having a fan club, so he wasn't very nice to them. And now here he was, asking me to bring him some cookies tomorrow! Cookies that I baked! "No problem."

"…Good…" he said. "See you."

"See you too," I said weakly. When he left, I sagged against the shelf and heaved a great sigh.

"Hinata-chan."

I straightened up quickly. "Neji-niisan!"

"I saw you talking to Uchiha."

I didn't know if that was a question or not. "Um, yes," I replied. Did I do something wrong?

"What did he say?" he asked. There was a gleam of something in his eye. Once again, he was making his expression unreadable.

"A-ano… Nii-san… He was asking about baking," I replied.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Hai," I replied, a little uneasy. He looked a stern and mad, like the way Father looks at me when I bring home average grades. "I'm going to get supplies now." I scurried to buy flour and other stuff, especially another bottle of mint extract.

* * *

_Yes! I got to talk to her! _Sasuke smiled inwardly at the exchange between him and Hinata. He was thankful that she happened to be on the same grocery that he was buying in. _If this is her local store, then that means her house is near mine!_

His mind whirled with possibilities at the thought of them living a block away from each other.

_And now I'm going to have an excuse for sitting with her at lunch tomorrow! Ha, and that Inuzuka won't have anything to say about it. _

_…I just hope Aburame wouldn't say anything… I know he's quiet and all, but you can't tell. He and Inuzuka are best friends. I wonder if he told… _

"Oh, sorry," he said, as he bumped into a girl. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't see where he was going.

"That-that's okay," she said breathlessly, her eyes shining. "I should be the one who's sorry!"

_That's stupid. I was the one who bumped into her. _He ignored the comment and continued to walk away.

"My name's Nagisa Shiroku! What's yours?" she called out to his retreating back.

_…Che… Annoying girls… _"Not interested," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

Half an hour later, I was having trouble walking to the counter because of my overloaded basket. Besides baking supplies, I also bought some fruits and snacks. I knew I should've gotten a pushcart!

As I neared another aisle, a familiar voice said, "let me help."

I turned around, nearly spilling the junk food at the top of my basket. "Sasuke-san, um—"

"That won't be necessary," Neji-niisan's voice cut in, cool and sharp. He took the basket from me and inspected it. He made his way to the line, carrying the basket as if it contained feathers.

I sighed and before following him, I turned to Sasuke-san. "Thanks anyway, Sasuke-san," I said, and gave him a halfhearted smile.

He shrugged.

I followed Neji-niisan and helped him unload the items on the counter. When we were finished, I tried to take a package from him—even the lightest one—but he wouldn't let me. in the end, I took my bag from him, because his hands were fairly full.

"Let's take the bus," I suggested.

"No," he replied flatly.

I left it at that. I didn't get why niisan was kind of mad when he saw Uchiha-san— I mean Sasuke-san—but nevertheless, I had to try.

"Um… nii-san?" I asked hesitantly. He didn't say anything, so I went on. "Are you mad at Sasuke-san?"

He looked at me weirdly, like earlier. I think one of these days, Neji-niisan is going to snap. He keeps his feelings bottled up.

"Why do you ask?" he asked slowly.

It was impossible to poke my fingers, so I fiddled with my bag. "Um… Well… You seem kind of mad," I answered carefully.

He looked away. "You read me too well, Hinata."

I hid my surprise as best as I could. First Gaara, and now nii-san? Was I becoming psychic…? "Um, so… Are you… Are you mad at Sasuke-san?"

He shrugged and didn't answer.

We were silent on the way home.


	6. Period Bells

**Disclaimer: I don't own Friends, Asian Kung-fu Generation, their Sol-Fa album, and Wolfgang Puck. **

"Okay, class, turn to page 7," Anko-sensei instructed. The whole room was quiet, and it was the tense kind of quiet.

I flipped the pages lazily until I came to page 7. Frankly, I never found the heart to listen during Math. It was… Boring and… Annoying. I never did have the patience for numbers.

I forced myself to mentally stay awake for fear of Anko-sensei. I actually managed to stay up last night, watching Wolfgang Puck, and Friends. And when Neji-niisan hauled me to my room, I whiled the night by listening to the Sol-Fa album I recently bought. I had stumbled across the band Asian Kung-fu Generation in Neji-niisan's computer. Their songs were really very good. It may seem out of character, but I actually enjoyed listening to punk and alternative more than pop or any other genre. Although I find mellow songs perfect at nights when I half-heartedly try to sleep.

"…And we can write sets in three forms. Hinata, can you give me one form?"

"…Huh?" I shook my head and stood up. Oh my…! Anko-sensei must have noticed me spacing out! Three forms of what? I was trying hard not to panic.

I quickly scanned the page. I didn't want Anko-sensei to repeat the question and possibly tell me off. I noticed that from the paragraphs in the page, there were three items enumerated. As long as I answer the question quickly, it'd be over. Here goes nothing…

"Um… Roster Notation or Listing Method?" I said shakily. I dropped back in my seat as Anko-sensei nodded and wrote it on the board.

"Correct. Hinata, you should try paying more attention; that way you won't be so nervous and caught off-guard," Anko-sensei said casually while still facing the board.

"Hai, Anko-sensei," I mumbled to myself, sinking lower in my seat. I could feel some people looking at me.

All right. I clenched my fists and concentrated on the class, to what Anko-sensei was saying.

"Yes, the second one is Verbal Description Method. From the name itself, the set is described verbally, like this: Set A contains element x such that x is greater than seven, and x is an odd integer."

Oh no. I was losing focus again. Wake up Hinata! I couldn't afford to sleep in this class! The teacher is scary, the subject is confusing, and the passing grade is seventy-five percent! If I don't listen now, I'll have trouble on my hands. I suppose I could ask Neji-niisan for help, but I want to know that I could do it on my own.

I pinched myself under the desk, and listened to Anko-sensei ramble on about sets.

"There are also two kinds of sets," she said, scribbling on the blackboard. "An equivalent set… Yes, Sasuke?"

Almost all of the girls turned to listen to Sasuke-san. They gave a collective sigh as Sasuke-san cleared his throat and started to answer without looking at the book.

"Two or more sets are called equivalent if they have the same number of elements, but they do not have the same elements contained. On the other hand, sets with the exact elements contained are called equal sets, and the elements can be arranged in any order as long as the elements of the sets are the same."

Many of the girls clapped. Sasuke-san sat back down without any hint of emotion on his face.

Anko-sensei blinked. "Yes, that is correct." She scribbled the information on the board. When she finished, she went to the teacher's desk and turned the pages on her book. "Now, there are practice exercises on page nine. Answer letter B, numbers 1-10, letter C, 1-6, and letter D, 1-9. Answers only," she said aloud while writing the items on the board.

I groaned, alone with the rest of the class. "Hey, Anko-sensei," someone from the back called out. "Tone it down a notch, eh?"

"Turn your laziness down a notch, Shikamaru," Anko-sensei snapped. "We will check your work at 8:55."

We all gasped. It was 8:43!

I flipped the pages hurriedly and started to work, the time pressure and the passing grade running through my mind.

Letter B. Copy the sets and change the elements to their absolute values. Okay, absolute values! All you had to do was to take the sign out and write it as it is. I did letter B hurriedly. When I finished it, surreptitiously glanced at the clock. It was 8:46.

I glanced at the book again. Letter C. Write if the sets are equal or equivalent. I gulped. This was hard, because the number of elements in all sets did not go lower than seven, and in some numbers, there were three or four sets.

For sure, I was going to flunk Math, and having Anko-sensei didn't help make things any better.

"Tick-tock!" came Anko-sensei's happy voice, breaking us out of our concentration. "It's 8:50!"

I looked up from doing number five and looked at the clock. I sighed. I tried to get my attention to number five, but I was unnerved. Why, oh, why did Anko-sensei have to be our Math teacher?

"Okay!" Anko-sensei said brightly after an eternity that lasted for five seconds. "Is everyone finished?"

There was a quick, "iie!" from the class.

"All right, I'm going to give you an extra two minutes!" she said grudgingly.

Everybody's heads went down again.

I can do it! Go Hinata! Just finish number six! …But even if I did do it, I still won't each seventy-five percent of the total items… I was panicking as I tried my best to concentrate on number five.

Suddenly, the bell rang. It was the sound of salvation!

Everybody's heads shot up and there was a relieved sigh from all of us.

"All right," Anko-sensei said, disappointed. "That will be your assignment."

"Goodbye and thank you, Ma'am," we chanted a little too happily when Anko-sensei left. There was a cheer as everyone put their notebooks away, eager to forget Math.

I sighed and sat back in my seat. Anko-sensei was somewhat demanding, and her subject didn't make it easier. But, if Neji-niisan could do it, then so can I! After all, we were both Hyuugas!

"I'm glad that damn subject is over," Kiba-kun said, crossing his legs and rubbing his temples. "Anko-sensei is a teacher from hell!" He rolled his eyes. "Ne, Shino, how far did you get?"

Shino-kun, who was still busy from the exercise, closed his notebook. "D, number six. And you?"

Kiba-kun grinned. "D, number eight. Ha! I beat ya!"

"…Let me see your notebook," Shino-kun said.

"No!" Kiba-kun said forcefully. He moved his notebook away.

"Let me see," Shino-kun repeated.

"What about you, Hinata-chan? How far did you get?" Kiba-kun asked, ignoring Shino-kun.

I looked away, ashamed. "C, number six."

Shino-kun, who had successfully snatched Kiba-kun's notebook, held it up away from Kiba-kun's reach. "….Let's see…" he said. "You left three, four, five, and six blank, Kiba."

"The hell! Who said you could take my notebook?" Kiba-kun said angrily, making a snatch.

Shino-kun handed it back to him.

I sighed and checked my watch. It was now 9:07. Kakashi-sensei was seven minutes late! Having nothing better to do, I listened to Kiba-kun and Shino-kun's conversation.

"Hey, who do you think will be out class president?" asked Kiba-kun.

"Sasuke," Shino-kun said.

"What?" Kiba-kun asked, surprised. "Well… There _are _many girls in class…"

"And he's pretty smart too," Shino-kun added. "It wouldn't be a problem if he's class president, I guess."

Kiba-kun shrugged. "Except for his attitude. Who do you want to be class president, Hinata-chan?"

"It's all right if it's Sasuke-san…" I said slowly. "But I think Shino-kun would be a good candidate too." I smiled at Shino-kun.

Kiba-kun scoffed. "I don't want to have a weird class president. Especially a bug freak," he added, pertaining to the fact that Shino-kun has a somewhat disturbing obsession with bugs. Although I have to admit, his present for my fifteenth birthday was beautiful: a glass case with pinned butterflies inside. I felt sorry for the poor butterflies, though.

"I don't want to be a class president anyway," Shino-kun shrugged.

"Kiba-kun will be a good vice-president," I suggested.

"Yes, because the position is useless anyway," Shino-kun said, which caused Kiba-kun to try and strangle him half-jokingly.

"That's it, you bug freak! You're going down! I bet I'll be nominated to a higher position than you!" Kiba-kun half-shouted.

"Pipe down, Inuzuka!" someone ordered, but Kiba-kun didn't seem to hear.

"You're on," Shino-kun replied, and both of them shook hands.

I sighed, exasperated and amused. There they go again…

"Idiots," I heard Gaara mumble behind me.

I turned around. Oops. I drew my head back. If I hadn't, we'd almost be nose-to-nose. He was resting his chin on his hand, leaning very close to me.

"Um... Hi, Gaara," I greeted him, unsettled. He was staring at me with his unusual eyes.

"Tell me, Hinata-san," he said with a hint of curiosity. "Why… Why are your eyes like that?"

"I was… Born that way," I answered a little hastily. I didn't want to turn my back on him, seeing it to be rude, so I pretended to look out the window, and then gradually face the board again.

I glanced at my watch. 9:20. Where was Kakashi-sensei? I wanted English to start already! I jiggled my toes, trying to ease the nervousness out of my body.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Kakashi-sensei went in. He rubbed the back of his neck apologetically.

"You're late, sensei!" Sakura-san said disapprovingly.

"Aa," he said. "I got lost on the road of life."

A stunned silence met his words. Crickets chirped. Wow, Kakashi-sensei was kind of weird.

"YOU'RE LYING!" Naruto-kun shouted.

"Aa," Kakashi-sensei said smilingly, and sat on the desk. "I want you to go form your groups and pick a leader and an assistant leader.

The chairs scraped noisily, and everyone went to their groups. There was an instant uproar.

"Come on, Hinata-chan," Shino-kun said, leading me to where Naruto-kun, Ino-san, and Sasuke-san already were.

"Hello, Hinata-chan!" Ino-san greeted me brightly. "It's great to have you in the group! We'll get that A+ for sure!" Her blue eyes sparkled. "And also, Sasuke-kun is here…" She sighed dreamily and floated. Um… Literally.

"Hn," said Sasuke-san, frowning.

"Hello, Ino-san," I smiled at her once she had gone back down. I took a seat beside Shino-kun. I sat on his left; Sasuke-san was next to me, then Ino-san, and then Naruto-kun.

"We should pick a leader now…" Shino-kun said.

"Pick me, pick me!" Naruto-kun bounced up and down. Wow, he was still hyper after Math class! He sure was full of energy.

Sasuke-san turned away. "Dobe," he muttered under his breath, but I caught it anyway.

"I say Sasuke-kun!" Ino-san said excitedly.

"Hinata-chan is good," Shino-kun said. Maybe… He was trying to return the favor when I said he would be a good class president.

I looked at him, alarmed. "Shino-kun! I don't want to be a leader!" I whispered urgently.

"Then it's settled," he said, arms folded. "Sasuke will be the leader, and Hinata-chan will be the assistant."

"I agree!" Ino-san squealed, clapping her hands.

"Me too! Hinata-chan is a great writer!" Naruto-kun beamed at me.

"T-thank you…" I said. I could feel Shino-kun watching me so I just smiled faintly and turned away.

"Group leaders, come forward," Kakashi-sensei said. He was holding a transparent container with folded pieces of paper inside it.

Sasuke-san stood up and went forward. I noticed Sakura-san instantly went beside him, looking up at him admiringly while striking up a conversation. Ino-san saw this too and angrily stood up, but Naruto-kun pulled her to her seat.

"Ino-chan, what are you doing?" he asked.

"That Forehead Girl is trying to steal my Sasuke-kun!" Ino-san near shouted. "I'll set things straight!"

I sweatdropped. Naruto-kun was restraining an angry Ino-san, who was shaking her fist and trying to get out of Naruto-kun's grip, while Shino-kun watched with some amusement.

I watched the group leaders. Kakashi-sensei said something, and they all nodded and picked a piece of paper one by one. Sasuke-san was first. He returned to his seat, a frown line on his forehead.

"What's that, Sasuke-kun?" Ino-san asked, pointing at the piece of paper in Sasuke-san's hands.

"What—what did Kakashi-sensei make you do there, Sasuke-san?" I asked, a little timidly.

Sasuke-san glowered at the piece of paper in his hands. "He made us pick the genre."

"What! But-but… That's unfair!" Ino-san spluttered.

"So what did you get?" Shino-kun asked.

Sasuke-san crumpled the paper into a tiny ball. "Fantasy."

"Fantasy?" Ino-san and I echoed blankly.

"Yes. And Kakashi-sensei we were free to pick our secondary genre."

Naruto-kun wrinkled his nose. "What does that mean?"

Sasuke-san sighed. "It means, _baka, _that while we have to pick our main genre, we can do whatever we want with our secondary genre."

"I… still don't understand."

Sasuke-san gritted his teeth. "In this case, dobe, I got fantasy, which is our main genre. That means that the plot has to involve magic and other stuff. For the secondary genre, Hinata-san—" I looked at him, startled "—can make it a drama, or angst, or comedy, or whatever. So while it's a fantasy, it could also be a drama, in which case the plot involves magic, and at the same time, a lot of tears." He glared at Naruto-kun. "Do you get it?"

Naruto-kun gave his trademark megawatt grin. "Hai! Perfectly."

"M-me? What do you mean I can make it a drama, or angst, or..?" my voice trailed off, nervous. I think I know what's going to happen next.

"Well, you see, I have a plan. Hinata-san, you write the whole damn thing, and you bring it to us when you finish a chapter or an act so we can judge it and give our comments before you go on."

Ino-san's eyes sparkled. "You think of the greatest things, Sasuke-kun!"

"Would that be fair to Hinata-chan?" Shino-kun asked.

"What do you think, Hinata-san?" Sasuke-san asked me.

I poked my fingers together. When Sasuke-san looked at me, he really looks, not just giving a passing glance. I really wasn't used to it. "A-ano… I think it's all right. But… What about the plot, setting, and characters? What if you won't like them?"

"We'll all decide on it before you start writing," Sasuke-san said. "Our next meeting will be on Saturday. Let me know if something unexpected turns up. Where and when?"

"Your house, Sasuke-kun!" Ino-san trilled… thrilled.

"No," Sasuke-san said coldly.

"But you're the leader!" Naruto-kun protested.

"That's irrelevant. What about your place, Naruto?"

Naruto-kun smiled sheepishly. "It's kind of messy and there, plus I don't have enough ramen…"

"Good," Sasuke-san said, with something akin to relief in his voice. "Ino-san?"

Ino-san sparkled… I think. She was happy that Sasuke-kun asked, but a dark cloud immediately hung over her. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun! I would certainly love to have you in our house, but it's no good. The living room is being used as an extra storage, because there's a surplus for seeds and flowers." Ino-san's family owned the Yamanaka Flower Shop in town. She sometimes tends the store on her free time. I know because I saw her once selling flowers there.

"That leaves Hinata-san and Shino," Sasuke-san said.

"Well… I guess it's all right in our house…" I said slowly. "Father is away most of the time, and Hanabi's in boarding school."

"Good," Sasuke-san nodded. "Meeting time is one, after lunch. Any objections?"

I smiled to myself. I'm sure we picked a good leader! I felt a little awed at the authority he exuded right then.

"All right. You guys think up of a plot while Hinata-san and I take care of business," he said, standing up.

"M-me?" I asked, flustered. I don't remembered having a conversation with him! ...Oh no, wait… It must be bout the cookies that he asked me to bring! "Oh-oh yes… Wait a minute, Sasuke-san, I'll go get the cookies from my bag," I said hurriedly, standing up.

He stopped me. "Cookies?" he repeated, his eyes clouding with confusion.

"Um… Yes… You asked me to bring some for you, didn't you?" I said, knitting my brows. Couldn't he remember the conversation we had in the grocery yesterday?

The confusion lifted from his face. "Ah… No, I'll get them later at lunch. Come on." He stepped out of our circle of chairs.

I followed him. "What is this about, Sasuke-san?"

A/N: Cliffhanger! XD I'm so nejified. Anyway, this chapter is really a sort of filler, though it _is _a very long sort of filler. Again, hugs to those who reviewed! And I think I finally figured out the problem of grading papers and Gaara being new.

Know what? I had an idea (it suddenly popped into my mind during mass, no less) to make a sequel of this fic. Whaddaya think? In this fic, they're juniors in high school, but in the sequel, they'll be in university. Yayness! XD

Anyway, help me out! XD I would really appreciate it if you gave me some tips on how Gai talks. Umm… And also a candidate for History class. The reason why I cut the classes short in chapter 5 was so I could avoid writing Gai for a while. Ack, dammit.

And btw, May 30 is my birthday! Waiii I'm shameless… XD

Before I go…

**Maii-Maii and newblue: **Well, here you go… Another chapter!

**Moonsnow Neko: **He's creepy, but he's cute. Anyway, I reviewed your fic _na! _I tried to review it lots of times, but the computers I use block pop-up windows. Anyways, thank goodness you've updated! XD I like it so far.

**chinadoll27: **Yup, he looks cute being overprotective! Don't ya think so?

**disama: **Thanks for the suggestion! I'm glad you loved Sasuke's POV! I'll be making another POV of his again in the next chapter or maybe the next after that… And I'm also glad you liked Neji's reaction! XD

**TheFutureFreaksMeOut: **Aww, there's no need for good or funny reviews as long as you review! –winks-

**Shanice Miharu: **Thanks! Hina-chan would be a good cook if she was placed in an AU. XD And what better way to a man's heart than his stomach? XD God bless _din po!_

**sil3ntxspirit: **Wow thanks! I'm glad you appreciate the quirks I added! And yeah, the phrase that he might snap someday… I agree with you that it fits realistically! XD

**OspreyAnimeG: **Thanks! You wanna know a spoiler about the pairings? –wink wink- E-mail me or something and I'll tell you XDXD Hehehe how shameless I am. XD

**lunarangel: **Poor Neji. He just wasn't _that _awake at the time he was baking. And yea, you _do _seem in love (or obsessed XD) with Kiba… But I can understand! He's cute without the hood on. Yeah, that Subido's stupid. If I add a classroom time with Kurenai, he'll PROBABLY play a big part. Or maybe not. Omg I just had an idea! Thank you so much for your review! XDXD Anyway, you hit the nail on the head with Neji! That's exactly what he does!

**HakushoObsessive: **Wow, then I'm glad I added Kiba and Shino on the summary! XD Aww, thank you so much for the compliment! I can't believe it! –hug, then wipes tear from eye- Sorry bout that…! I'm just a little emotional today.

**shikaruTo: **Hmm! I don't really know if I'm going to put Hayate in… Sorry! I need to study him more if I want him to be a teacher…! XD Anyway, thanks for your view on Neji! Waiii I like him right now! XD Yes, there is SasuHina and GaaHina, but I'll make the pairings quite a surprise.

**Jasmine Starlight: **Waiii! I'm so happy that my fic is on you 'ALL I EVER NEED LIST!' XD I'm touched! Hmm… I actually have a lot of favorites from AKG. They are: N.G.S., Rewrite, Haruka Kanata, Mirai no Kakera, and No Name. What about you? Yeah, it's kind of lonely when you're obsessed with a band, and none of your friends know (or want to know) who they are. –sniffs- Anyway, I read your fic! It's too cool! I love it! So much! You update it too, 'kay?

**NanamiYatsumaki: **Aw, it's okay if you didn't review the others. What matters is that you liked it! XD

**Yuuchi: **Tenks for the review and the testimonial too! …Hey, that rhymed. XD

**xxxMizukixxx: **Wow, really? I didn't know I had quite of an influence. XDXD Hehehe!

**Chibi Tetra: **Waiii! Here's the new chapter! Don't make me watch KakaGai videos! Noo!

**khmer shinobi: **Yup! XD I couldn't think of anything else. Hot sauce… Classic. XD Hehehe! Thanks! I just put it on a whim! There's really little Gaara time there, I know, but I'll try to put him in as much as believably possible. XD Waiii! I love that wave! –hugs-

**Xoni Newcomer: **Wow, so I don't have anything to patch? That's great! XD Hmm… I'll work on that glimpse… XD Anyway, the thing with them living near each other? It's just Sasuke's speculations, hehe. The grocery store is actually three streets away from Hinata's house, so they're not going to be living near each other.

**nightxXxshade: **Yup, I agree! I love Shino! It's just too bad his hair is brown. T-T Well… as lunarangel said, Neji doesn't want guys to hit on Hinata. XD Okay, spoiler! XD

**DFGH: **Waii! Thanks so much for the lovely, lovely, long, long review! Well… I made Shino talk much, since he's with friends anyway. And Sasuke's _'I wonder if he told…'_? Hahaha! That's something else! XD I just hope what I'm planning will work. Waiii… You're complimenting me too much! XD Not that I mind, though. XD Neji is also something else! XD I'm glad he looks more big brother-like than bodyguard-like. I need to make it believable, whaa! XD Waii, you love AKG, too? Then that makes three of us, with Jasmine Starlight! XD Anyway, thanks also for the review on Alone No More! XD


	7. Reading Body Language

He stopped and faced me, serious. There was those eyes again, pulling me down, down, down… I felt as if I could lose myself in them.

"Hinata-san, don't you find it strange that Kakashi-sensei asked Gaara, along with us, to help him grade projects? I was a little surprised yesterday, but now it doesn't make sense to me." He looked very serious.

"Huh? I… I don't really get what you mean," I said, confused. "Uh… So… You-you think that Kakashi-sensei shouldn't trust us to help him?"

Sasuke-san looked surprised, then serious again. "No… No! What I mean is… Don't you find it strange? And also about Gaara. He's new, isn't he?"

Before I replied, my gut feeling told me there was something different about Sasuke-san today. Usually he didn't bother explaining things to people, unless he was a group leader or he was reciting in class. Not that we were very close (unless you count the time when we were in the library together), but that was what I just thought of him. Sasuke-san continues to surprise me lately. He was proving to be a different person than I thought.

And I also remembered having this conversation with Shino-kun. "We-ell… Yes…" I said slowly.

"Hinata-san, don't you see? Grading projects, the four of us… We have different standards, and if we ourselves grade, then we might give a low grade to those with a fairly good job, and vice versa."

I wasn't hard to catch on to his point: we have different perspectives, and we might give out undeserving grades. But it would've been nice to grade everyone's projects, I thought with a sigh. It seemed a good idea at the time, though. "I guess you're right, Sasuke-san."

He didn't say anything, but resumed our way through the maze of chairs to the teacher's desk. When we arrived, some of the group leaders were already there, talking to Kakashi-sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, please! It's impossible to make a novel in six months!" Sakura-san was saying.

Kakashi-sensei said nothing, letting the leaders talk. Sasuke-san and I stood near the blackboard.

"Yeah, it's totally impossible! We also have other subjects too!"

"Inspiration doesn't come easily, you know!"

"Yeah, we don't want to disappoint our sensei with a half-arse work!" Here Kakashi-sensei smiled.

"We can't pour all our time making it!"

"How will we know what to do?"

At length, Kakashi-sensei held up his hands. "All right, enough of this." He sighed. "'Ruka tells me I drive you all too hard anyway."

"Iruka-sensei?"

"You are not going to make a classroom play, then. You will either do a novel, or a play, but you are not going to act it out anymore." Kakashi-sensei's eye curved upward, a sure sign of amusement.

"B-but! Kakashi-sensei! Didn't you hear us?" spluttered Sakura-san.

"I am not going to change it. It's final. Making a full-length novel or play is hard, but not totally impossible. Besides, you have your groups. Go figure something out."

Grumbling, the other leaders turned away, and returned to their groups. Sasuke-san and I stayed behind.

"Yes?" Kakashi-sensei asked, but stopped. "Ah, Sasuke and Hinata. I was going to tell something about the job I gave you. Where's Gaara?"

We swung around, looking for Gaara. I saw him instantly because of his fiery hair. "Sabaku!" Sasuke-san called out.

He looked at us for a moment, then stood up and went over. It was a wonder he could hear Sasuke-san over the mini-racket our class was making.

Before Gaara could reach us, Sasuke-san told Kakashi-sensei, "Sabaku Gaara is new this year, sensei. Are you sure about making him grade projects?"

"Ah," Kakashi-sensei answered, "Part of what I want to say."

Gaara stood beside me. I gave him a little smile, and he acknowledged with a slight nod.

"Well, I gave the job to the wrong class," Kakashi-sensei answered, rubbing the back of his neck, sounding sheepish. "You see, I was substituting for Miss Makoto, and I thought it was this class. I realized, rather too late, that grading projects was for the senior class."

Sasuke-san snorted, although Kakashi-sensei couldn't hear it. "Che."

"That means we don't have anything extra to do anymore, then," Gaara stated. It wasn't a question.

Kakashi-sensei held up a finger. "Wrong. Since you three have volunteered, I won't let it go to waste."

I fidgeted. I didn't exactly volunteer myself; my classmates volunteered me! However, if this is for English, then it's perfectly fine—in fact, I felt privileged! What does Kakashi-sensei have in store for us now?

"You three are going to interview three local authors in this area. You will then write a paper on them, to be submitted as a group. You will work on this together, and you will turn it in on December 5, three months from now. Any questions?"

I wanted to run away. Interview local authors? I can't even look at Sasuke-san or Gaara in the eye without blushing or stuttering! Oh, Kakashi-sensei!

"What will the paper contain?" Sasuke-san asked, his eyes narrowed.

"A biography, a brief summary of his or her works, and your own essay on his worth as an author, and a review on your favorite book that author made."

"That goes for all three authors, right…? So there will be… um… three essays per author?" I asked, fearing the answer. Please no, please no, please no…

"Yes." _No!_ "That's why you can't interview an author per person, and then meet up later. You have to go there together."

That was a ray of hope. I hope Sasuke-san would do a good job. I was counting on him to talk, because Gaara didn't strike me as talkative enough for the interview. Not that Sasuke-san was talkative, though. But when I think about it, none of us were really interviewer material.

…It wasn't exactly a good alternative for grading projects, but then Kakashi-sensei didn't want to waste our volunteer. On the other hand, I wanted him to just forget about giving us a project in the first place.

"As an added bonus, I'll be there to oversee your interview, and possibly step in when it goes awry." His eyes curved upward again. "And of course, this will be counted as your extra credit."

I smiled, trying not to grin. For the love of extra credit, I'd do anything!

"Good luck," Kakashi-sensei added.

The three of us turned away, and Gaara returned to his seat. Sasuke-san was walking slower, so I kept pace with him.

"Yatta… This is my big chance," I heard him say, and then he snickered.

I blinked. Did Sasuke-san have a fever? He was acting very strange. What did he mean by his big chance?

I scoffed at myself. Of course he meant the extra credit. He had always been—dare I say it?—an overachiever when it came to academics. And he always had a position in the Student Council and the Math Club.

**

* * *

Sasuke wove in and out of the teeming people in the corridor, trying to find Hinata. She had left early because her cousin was outside their room even before the bell rang.**

He snorted to himself. Hinata was already seventeen, but she still had to be escorted to her lunch table. Hyuuga Neji was so unreasonably overprotective. And that time at the grocery yesterday… Neji had kept him from scoring points. Asshole.

But then, there was a marked change in Hinata compared to their earlier days. Perhaps Neji had also noticed that she was developing too, and that was why he was so overprotective.

But with their extra credit for English, he could spend time with her without Neji in the way. He could conveniently ask her to eat with him—alone—after Gaara and Kakashi had gone.

What _had _drawn him to her anyway? She didn't attract much attention because of her shy and quiet demeanor, and Sasuke didn't spend much time observing her before.

It all started last year, during his preparation for the National Science Quiz Bee for the National Science Fair. His biology teacher had sent him three weeks prior to the competition to the library to brush up on the subject. Of course, he had been pulled out of all his classes and was supposed to be spending his time preparing himself.

Only he wasn't doing that.

During that time, Hinata was also sent to the library for the massive Language and Literature competition to be held out of the region.

And Sasuke, tired and bored of the science behind Science, took the opportunity to study and watch Hinata. They were literally alone in the library, since Yakushi Kabuto, the librarian, was almost always out, filling in other classes as a substitute teacher. Yes, Konoha High was understaffed, but it wasn't a serious problem. Not yet, anyway.

During recess time, both of them didn't really go out of the library, being introverted people.

During recess time, Hinata would shyly offer him her food, and for the first days, he would refuse until, eventually, he gave in.

During recess time, both of them would bother attempting to make small talk until, eventually, the small talk progressed into somewhat of a conversation.

During recess time, Sasuke—without being aware of it—would turn toward Hinata, as if expecting something from her.

During recess time, Hinata would give him that shy, innocent smile, twiddle her fingers, shyly offer him food, fidget, and smile at him again, nervously.

Sasuke would anticipate recess time from then on, for some reason. Being the genius that he was, he found—right away—that the reason was Hinata. He would always wish that the competition would never take place, and then recess time would inevitably come.

But the competition took place, and they were in separate locations for a week. When they started going to classes normally again, both of them had treated each other like strangers again, like they had never shared a bond of some sort. But there really wasn't much of a chance of approaching Hinata anyway, what with Kiba, Shino, and Neji always around her.

Back then, he thought, the only chance he had of talking to Hinata without anyone near her was if he would ambush her in the girls' bathroom. So he waited for her to make the first move.

And now, since waiting for her to approach him didn't work, _he _was approaching _her._ He would unveil his intentions when the right time comes.

He huffed silently to himself, and cursed. If Sakura hadn't kept him after Science class, he would have had time to catch up with Hinata and her group. He burst inside the cafeteria doors. Most of the girls turned to look at him, causing minor food spills. Too bad he could care less. He scanned the room quickly. Sure that Hinata wasn't inside, he proceeded to the tables that were placed at the back of the school.

The first thing he noticed was Gaara's hair. And sitting beside him was… _Finally!_

He squared his shoulders and strolled casually over to them. "Can I sit here?" he asked.

"What for?" Kiba narrowed his eyes.

"Sa-Sasuke-san!" Hinata squeaked. "S-sure…"

"Thanks." He squeezed beside Hinata and Kiba. He repressed a grin upon hearing Kiba mutter angrily and sidle a little to give him way. He—accidentally—brushed Hinata's arm, and could feel nervousness rolling off her in waves.

Kiba opened his mouth to speak, but there was a sound of pounding feet, and then, "OI SASUKE!"

Naruto. _Damn…_

He skidded to a stop behind Kiba. "Oi Sasuke, why did you leave me alone?" he asked.

"Leave you alone?" he echoed, deciding to play it safe. _Shit, I forgot he was waiting at our table… Poor bastard. Heh, he should blame Hinata for this. _

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "Don't we always sit together?"

Sasuke looked in time to see Shino's brow rise above the rim of his glasses.

"Hinata-san is going to give me something today," he said rather smugly, using the excuse he had to sit with them.

"Please… Sit with us, Naruto-kun," Hinata invited him. _Why doesn't she stutter around him? _

"Sure thing, Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned.

"Hey Shino! Hey Kiba! Hey…" Naruto trailed off, looking at Gaara.

"Gaara," the redhead supplied monotonously. _Damn lucky Sabaku, sitting beside Hinata!_

"Hey, Gaara! Are you new here? Haven't seen you around before! What section are you from?" Naruto cheerfully said, squeezing between Shino and Gaara and pulling out his lunch.

Kiba and Gaara looked miffed, but didn't say anything.

"You idiot, Sabaku's our classmate," Sasuke said from across Naruto, through gritted teeth.

"Oh, really! Hmm… I wonder why Anko-sensei didn't say… Oh well! Itadakimasu!" Naruto said, digging in enthusiastically.

"Itadakimasu!" Kiba, Hinata, and Shino exclaimed in perfect unison.

He and Gaara said nothing, but ate. Conversation ensued about who their last two subjects would be.

When they all finished eating, Naruto cheerfully exclaimed, "this is really great! Does anyone have dessert?"

"Oh, I almost forgot," Hinata said. She pulled out a carefully wrapped package with a white ribbon on it. "These are what you asked for, Sasuke-san." Shy shyly poked her fingers together. "…And… um… that's one of my favorite ribbons…" she added quietly, but he heard it.

He fingered the ribbon, enjoying its silky texture. He leaned closer to her. "…Can I keep it?" Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto and Kiba were having a somewhat normal conversation, Gaara was staring into space, and Shino was sitting still.

…Probably listening to them.

He cringed inwardly. He knew Shino's father was a psychologist.

Hinata looked surprised. She looked away, a pretty pink blush staining her cheeks. "O-okay…"

"…Thanks." He patted himself mentally on the back. _She gave me one of her favorite ribbons, and I'm sitting beside her! Hmm… I wonder what excuse I could engineer tomorrow. _"Why is this ribbon your favorite?" he asked, hoping to glean more information.

"Um… This is my favorite color," she replied hesitantly. "I used this… to, uh… braid my doll's hair when I was younger…"

He bit back a smile at an image of a chibi Hinata playing with dolls. "You don't mind me having this?" Sasuke leaned in closer to her.

"N-no…" she replied. "You can have it." She smiled a little, turning into a new shade of maroon.

"Hey!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, making Sasuke want to pound him. "I've got a great idea!"

Gaara raised an eyebrow at him, and Shino and Hinata turned to him.

"Not so loud, baka!" Kiba said, clutching his ear.

"Sasuke and I are lonely at our usual table, so why don't we sit here?"

_Hmm, Naruto isn't that useless after all…_

"I don't think so," Kiba crossed his arms, looking skeptical.

Shino shrugged. "Fine by me."

Gaara crossed his arms. "…Hn."

"G-good idea," Hinata said, a little shyly. "It sounds like… fun… Kiba-kun?"

"Fine, all right," Kiba grumbled, hearing Hinata's response.

_Take that, Inuzuka! Ha! _

"Oi, Sasuke. What are you doing, hitting on Hinata-chan?" Naruto's tone was deadpan.

Everybody turned to look at the both of us. His lips were still near her ear, and a blush was steadily rising to Hinata's cheeks. His blood boiled and skyrocketed to his head, and he hastily stood up.

"Take that back, dobe," he said, a deadly fire glinting in his eyes. For God's sake, why can't Naruto just _shut the hell up_? Sasuke didn't care what _everyone else_ said, but if Naruto was going to just _expose _sasuke like that, then to hell with it! He was going to kill Naruto!

And he wasn't _hitting on _Hinata. He was… Merely… Talking to her, with his face dangerously close to hers, which had been a very, _very _nice feeling. While everyone else was preoccupied with their business, he and Hinata were enjoying themselves, and now Naruto ruined it! Dammit!

Besides, using the word _hitting on _implied that Sasuke was a pervert. Which he definitely was not. _Damn baka! Now Hinata's probably scared of me, thinking that I probably flirt carelessly with girls! Damn baka! I'll kill him!_

Naruto, sensing that something exciting was going to happen, retorted quickly. "No way. You're _hitting on _Hinata-chan! Pervert!" He stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.

_You're going down, dumbass! _

Naruto quickly bolted from his seat, and Sasuke, hot on his heels, was giving chase.

Three-quarters of the females around to witness the scene almost fainted. Sasuke's incredibly sexy dark hair was flying around, and his incredibly mysterious eyes were glinting with a bright fire.

Why can't Sasuke-kun chase _them_? Why that loudmouth idiot, Naruto?

**

* * *

"Why is Sasuke so affected?" Gaara asked blankly.**

Shino pursed his lips to keep from smirking. He could guess the reason, _and _he knew the answer. His father's lessons about reading human behavior certainly didn't go to waste on him, and reading Sasuke was like his practicum.

That was the reason why he was always so quiet. He was always busy "reading" other people. Of course, there was no need for Hinata and Kiba, because their emotions were always transparent, even if they try to mask it.

For example, Shino knew that Kiba had a crush on Hinata during their elementary days. A few tender words, unnecessary enthusiasm, a perpetual need to show off, and a death threat to anyone who so much as comes close within a yard of her. Shino had casually dropped his "observations" to his one-on-one conversation with Kiba one day, and he didn't miss the red stain on his best friend's tanned cheeks, and the telltale explosion upon slipping on his words.

_"Hey, Kiba. Have you seen Hinata anywhere?"_

_"Right now? She's in the music room, practicing—" _

_"Oh. Yaone-sensei was looking for her earlier."_

_"What time? I'll know! I know where she is all the time."_

_"…Really? You never let her out of your sight?"_

_"Yeah! You never know, some guy might try to hit on her or something... You know her. She…uh… can't say no."_

_"Oh? You know Kiba, you're becoming the stalker type lately."_

_"Whaddaya mean? Are you implying that I follow her around all the time even if I don't have to? Do you think I have a crush on her? Are you reading me again, Shino?"_

_"No, I'm not implying that. But since you say it… I do think you have a thing for her."_

_"SHUT UP! YOU'RE READING ME AGAIN, SHINO!"_

_"…I can't help it. Shall I tell Hinata that you're stalking her? She seems a little paranoid lately… I wonder… Is it because of you?"_

_"SHUT UP! Don't—don't tell Hinata-chan, all right? Don't tell her! Neji will kill me! Please!"_

Interpreting human behavior was a lot of fun, especially picking up clues from the way a person talked. In a way, Shino was better informed than the rumor mill.

But Sasuke was an entirely different matter from Kiba. Or maybe the same, more or less...

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you so much for the reviews! –sighs- The first week of school is almost finally over, thank God. The first day was kind of boring, though. Just sitting around, and trying so hard not to go to the canteen or skip classes. XD I was a bad student that way… -giggles- Why don't you guys tell me about your first day/week, hm? –grins- 

Anyway, I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, to tell the truth… Give your verdict, ne?

**Moonsnow Neko: **Yeah! XD Although you_ could_ put in a bit more Hinata time, eh? XD You know me, I'm a die hard Hinata fan! XD Hm, well… I dunno why he forgot… XD Probably because of the stress of being a leader, or he did remember, but he blurted out that he didn't know. XD My mind works sometimes that way. You know, when somebody tells me something, I grasp the fact a little slower than usual. XD

**TheFutureFreaksMeOut: **Wow, thanks for the greeting! XD Hm, unfortunately, hyper and loud isn't one of my strongest points. –sighs- I probably won't put Gai in as their teacher, if I could find a nicer substitute. XD Don't worry, I'm going to put Gaara in as much as possible… Cuz he's too quiet, sorta, so I'll put him wherever the circumstance is credible. XD

**newblue: **Here you are! XD

**khmer shinobi: **I'm nejified, that's why! XD –cackles- Nyar. XD Yeah, I think so too! Now, if Shino's hair could be black… Don't get me wrong, I love Shino too—in a way—but I keep imagining that his hair's black whenever I think of him. XD Waaaii! See! XD I'm nejified… Oh, oh, btw! I love your fic!

**nightxXxshade: **Ah, so you like Gaara/Hinata better, huh? XD Well, well… Be glad, my friend. Be glad. XD Yeah, brown looks okay, but as I said before, I keep imagining it's black, so I guess it's sorta kinda stuck on my mind. XD Nejified, I tell ya! Ah btw, yes, I read Ironically Dramatic and No Laws to Love. They're too great! XD But Of Death and Sand… Well… It says in the summary that it's ItachiOC, and GaaraOC though… Is there a lot of Hinata time there?

**Jasmine Starlight: **Hm, I'll try to fit Hayate in! XD Yup, there are some OCs, but I'm trying to not to put too much. XD Wow, you have Mugen Glider! I can't believe it! I've been looking for that! Waaaiii! Ah, I think I didn't mention Rocket No. 4 earlier… It's one of my favorite songs too. XD Ah btw, do you know Orange Range? They performed Viva Rock, the 4th ending. XD I've always adored its sort-of video. XD Oh, oh btw! Have you seen the video of Kimi to Iu Hana? It's soo cute, especially when they were dancing on the bridge! XDXD

**RemyLuver: **Ah, well, life's that way sometimes… XD Want peppermint:p

**loneangel1016: **Hm, about the pairings… XD Well… You have to wait and see. XP Believe me, both men play important roles for this fic, and its sequel (if ever there's gonna be one XD)! Hm, well, Shino… XD I love him to bits. XD I'm going to make him, er… Dunno how to say it, but I just hope you'll love him here! XD Waii, thank you so much for the greeting! –hug- Ah, they made some relatively confusing changes in our account window, but ir looks sorta kinda nice. XDXD And yep, I'm a Pinay! XD Are you too? XDXD I was thinking of putting up a C2 for Filipino writers, but that sounds kind of selfish. XD Anyway, I think you've made some SasuHina stories, yes? So sorry, but I can't check! XD I'm offline while writing this. XDXD

**Shanice Miharu: **Thanks for the greeting! Wow, I'm glad you liked the conversations! XD There's more conversations here for you to enjoy. XP I was quite meticulous about them… Hope they turned out okay! XD Tc and God bless too!

**lunarangel: **Wow, you like Math? XD Hm, well, it's not really that hard, I admit, but I guess the reason why I didn't like it that much was because I never paid attention to it. XD Especially in our second year, our teacher had a really tiny voice, and I was way in the back, so I just sort of lost interest. XD Hmm, I haven't thought about the elections, too! –screams- Omg! Yes, I forgot… -sighs- Wow, whatta dream! XD Did he notice you? What were you doing to notice him? XDXD Sorry for being curious, I was probably a cat in past life. XD

**shikaruTo: **Ya know, I actually hunted for my second-year notebook, because I couldn't find my third-year one. T-T I was supposed to get info from it… -sighs- Oh well. I'll probably put in Advanced Algebra, Statistics, and Trigonometry (which is what were taking up this year, yay). XDXD Wow, well I was going for Sasuke to be really smart, like this guy in my class. XD This guy's a little arrogant and snobbish too, but what the hey. XD Thanks for supporting the sequel! XD I actually wrote a draft of it already, and I posted some spoilers in my LiveJournal. XD You can visit it, if you want, hehe. XDXD –winks- Ayyy btw! I love your story! Too bad Hinata stopped Sasuke… Tsk tsk! XDXD

**HakushoObsessive: **Ha, well, thanks for the greeting! XD Hope ya like this chapter!

**DFGH: **Wow, a carbonated fic. XD I wonder how that works out. XDXD I'm glad we have a male teacher when it comes to Math. To tell the truth, I prefer male teachers to female ones. XD They're nicer, and less likely to explode. Probably because they're not arriving at menopause or something. XPXP …Yes, yes I will write another chapter! Please don't steal my pillow! (GASP!) Oh, the "waii" thing is just an expression. You know, when you accidentally step on a sea urchin on a beach, you can go, "waiii! I'll die!" XD Oh my! XD Thank you so much for the award! XDXD This is the first time I've gotten one that isn't from a journalism contest. XDXD It's cute… Nejified… Cute in a nejified way in a good way! XDXD

**Angel Yuriko: **Wow thanks! Don't worry, I'll add mush as much as I can, without Gaara looking like a creepy, deranged psycho! XDXD Kidding! Hehehe. Hm, well… XD


	8. Class Election!

That night, Gaara couldn't concentrate on his homework. A certain white-eyed girl kept plaguing his mind, and finally, getting tired of adding nine times eight in his mind, he slammed his notebook with much force as he had hoped.

"Oi, what now Gaara?" his older brother by two years, Kankurou, asked lazily. He was lying on the sofa with his feet up, smoking contemplatively. Gaara hated cigarette smoke, but it was useless talking Sabaku Kankurou out of it.

If there was something he and his siblings shared, it was stubbornness.

"None of your business," Gaara growled, put into a sour mood because of the rancid smell. He used his notebook to wave away tendrils of smoke wafting to him. Any more cigarette smoke, and his asthma would come back in full force.

"Che. Whatever," the older youth replied, taking a long drag on his Marlboro. He blew a perfect smoke ring, something he trained in since he started smoking when he was sixteen.

Silence.

"Can you take that outside?" Gaara asked, irritated, and with forced patience.

"No," replied Kankurou with the same lazy drawl. "Why don't you try it, though? You're old enough anyway."

Gaara crossed his arms and looked away. "Idiot," he muttered.

"What?" Kankurou asked thickly. The living room was heavy with smoke.

The hallway door opened, and Gaara's oldest sibling stepped in. She coughed and fanned herself. "God, Kankurou," she snapped. "Take that outside. I might get another attack, you stupid bum." She coughed again.

Kankurou rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said, waving a hand. He got up slowly and shuffled to the kitchen door.

She covered her nose and mouth, and moved to open the windows. She sat opposite Gaara, with one foot propped up so she could rest her chin on her knee. She looked at her youngest sibling closely. "You look pale. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Hai," he said blandly.

"Hm, I'll bet it's Kankurou's smoking. He should at least open the windows if he's going to bring his smoking inside, ne?"

"Hn," he replied.

"Why didn't you open the windows yourself, anyway?"

Gaara hated to explain anything, so he said, "I don't know."

Silence.

"Temari."

"Hm?"

"How… do you… make a girl… like… you?" He formed each word carefully and uncertainly, cringing at his own self. He just _had _to ask this question.

Temari smiled affectionately and clapped her hands. "Aw, I didn't think this day would come!" She grinned at him, tying her sandy hair. He frowned and looked away, thinking twice about asking his sister for help.

But, better Temari than Kankurou.

Kankurou appeared, chuckling. "I bet she'd be scared rather than take a second look at you."

Gaara glared at him. "How long have you been there?"

He raised a can of Heineken in his hand. "Cheers," he grinned.

"Hey, get me one too," Temari told him.

When Kankurou reappeared, he gave the can to Temari, who snapped it open and took a long draught. He sat beside Temari.

"What are you doing here?" she asked disapprovingly. "Gaara and I are having a private conversation here."

"So?" he grinned and winked at Gaara. "You'll need a major adjustment before you can even attract a female fly."

Whack. Temari held a giant paper fan in her hands.

"Smoke outside or something," she said, glaring at him. She waved the paper fan at him. "Don't bother us."

"Hm, I think I will," he said thoughtfully, and left again.

"Soo… Who's this girl?" she asked, leaning in conspiratorially.

"No one you know," Gaara answered noncommittally.

She frowned. "I have to know what her personality is so I can give you some pointers!"

"…Is that really necessary?"

Temari looked at him like he was the densest creature on earth. "Duh, Gaara!"

He frowned. "Why can't you just tell me what to do?"

She crossed her arms. "No."

"You're stubborn."

"You too."

"Forget the whole thing, then."

"GAARA! FINE, DON'T ASK ME FOR HELP! YOU'LL JUST MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF, AND I'D CARE LESS!"

"Yeah, right."

She took a swig of beer. "You're going to be sorry. Imagine giving her flowers, and she'll look at you like you just crawled from a rock into civilization." She giggled. "I'd like to see that someday. You getting rejected, I mean."

"You're mean."

"You're stubborn. If you just let me help you—"

"Hinata-san would accept the flowers," he answered.

"Ah! Now we're getting somewhere!"

After three hours, Gaara found himself half-buried in loose-leaf paper, literally speaking. Temari, in between cans of Heineken, had written down what he should and should not do. Gaara, being a complete idiot when it came to girls, asked the whys and hows of each pointer. Temari, in her big-sister compassion, wrote the full explanation and situations so he could review them when he needed. Gaara, never one to show emotion or waste his time, left Temari on the table, passed out after twelve cans of Heineken.

* * *

Their English period was given to another group meeting for their project again. Room 205 resembled a battlefield in terms of noise production, and Kotetsu-sensei from the next room had been inside twice to tell them off.

Kakashi-sensei, absorbed in his Icha Icha Paradise, barely heard the noise. Sasuke, unanimously voted temporary president, was having a hard time controlling the noise level. Every few seconds, he would raise his voice and tell them to keep quiet, but to no avail.

So now, gripping his pencil tightly, he hurriedly gave instructions to his group members while he dealt with his raucous classmates.

"Sasuke-kun, why don't just give it up?" Ino said worriedly, looking at the pencil on Sasuke's hand, which was on the verge of splitting in two.

"No," he answered through gritted teeth.

"Okay! So what do we do now?" Naruto answered cheerfully and loudly, which caused a vein to twitch in his temple.

"All right," he said through gritted teeth. "You four think up of plotlines, and I'll judge which one we can use. When that's finished, Ino-san, Hinata-san—you two do the characters."

"Okay," Hinata agreed softly. "Um, here…" she gave a piece of gum to Sasuke. "Gaara gave me that earlier, but I think you need it more than I do."

Sasuke eyed it warily, and then took the gum from her. He ate it, chewing furiously.

"Isn't that your favorite gum flavor, Hinata-chan?" Shino asked.

"Hai," Hinata answered, fiddling with her pen. "He gave me some. Do you want one?"

"No, no…"

**Flashback**

_Gaara, Shino, and Kiba stopped by a grocery store on the way home. Spotting a pack of cotton candy-flavored gums, Kiba started to rummage in his pocket._

_"These are Hinata-chan's favorite kind!" he exclaimed, still digging in his pockets. "She gets really happy when she has one."_

_"Is that so?" asked Gaara._

_"Oh man," Kiba wailed. "I don't have any money left! Lend me some?" he asked Shino._

_"I don't have any left, too," he answered ruefully._

_"Gaara?" Kiba prompted, turning to the redhead._

_Gaara, holding a pack of gums already paid for, started to head for the door. _

_"Great! Thanks," Kiba said, about to take the package._

_Gaara held it from his reach. "I didn't buy this for you. I bought this for… me."_

**End Flashback**

_Gaara needs further analyzation too, _Shino thought.**

* * *

**

Sasuke could not help but feel dismayed as he watched Ino and Hinata having a great time with each other, at another table. But it was probably good for Hinata; after all, she spent her childhood without any complete form of female companionship. He yawned lazily and watched Hinata leisurely; he had chosen to sit on the spot across her so he could watch her unobtrusively.

Which meant he had to sit between Naruto and Kiba.

His eardrums were undoubtedly cursing him.

The two had been arguing about meaningless things while eating, like who was the tallest wrestler, which sensei had the nicest form (the only part of the conversation he somewhat enjoyed listening to), which was the easiest subject, whether or not blue umbrellas had the best durability among all the colors. Meaningless stuff.

His ears were throbbing, his head was spinning, and he wanted to sit beside Hinata—badly.

He had assigned the two girls to work on the characters for their English project. As far as he knew, group one was the first to commence operations. And having Hinata in the group was a miracle, a blessing, a grace, a dream come true—call it whatever you want. There were so many advantages.

"Hey, vote me for president!" Naruto's words suddenly registered in his tired brain.

Oh, right. The elections were today. Anko-sensei said she was going to borrow Kabuto-sensei's History class, which was the last period.

"Why can't she just take out Phys Ed and History?" Kiba complained. "I can't take that flames of youth shit anymore!"

"Neither can I," Naruto agreed vehemently. "And DOES he have to sparkle like that? My eyes, seriously hurt, man." He rubbed his eyes and blinked twice for emphasis.

"Patience," said Shino calmly.

He averted his eyes slowly, very slowly. It was kind of dealing with a mad dog; if you make any sudden move, you'd get noticed.

He didn't want to feel like a bug under a microscope—again.

The first time was that stage play last year, when he had been blatantly gawking at Hinata, who looked like she descended from heaven. He knew Shino was scrutinizing him then, but he didn't care.

Only then during the ride home that he realized Shino's father was a psychologist.

The realization hit with a sudden frightening clarity. It wasn't a comforting thought. But hell, it wasn't the time to chicken out! For the love of Hinata, he'd do anything!

Her love would keep his youthful flame burning!

He suddenly spat out his drink. _Che, where the hell did that come from!_ He rested his head on his arms, breathing heavily. Was he possessed by the spirit of Maito Gai? But Gai was still alive! Oh, good Lord, please, NO!

"Sasuke… Daijobou ka?" Naruto asked, a little concerned. The blond suddenly started thumping his back.

He glared at Naruto. "Stop. It. Now. Baka."

Naruto grinned at him cheerfully, gave his back a last resounding thump, which seemed to reverberate inside his body.

He punched the blond on the head, and Kiba laughed out loud.

"The hell was that for!" Naruto yelled.

"Che. You're an indefatigable idiot."

Naruto made a lunge for him, but he moved out of reach. The blond made a second move, but instantly, Sasuke got out of his seat and ran, and Naruto gave chase.

Once again, half the females sighed dreamily, and dreamed of him giving chase to them.

One with a rather large forehead and annoying pink hair dared to follow.

"SASUKE-KUUUN!" Sakura yelled, her lanky legs pumping fast.

Oh, _great._

**

* * *

**

Ino-chan and I looked up from our work to see most of the girls crowding around, looking both amused and disgusted.

"What's going on?" I asked Ino-chan, who was peering over the heads of the crowd, being taller than I was.

"I can't see a thing," she complained. "It's probably about Sasuke-kun again."

"Oh," I replied. Suddenly, some people left, and we could see clearly. "Ino-chan, Sakura-san and Naruto-kun are chasing Sasuke-san," I told her.

She looked behind her casually and shrugged. "Wow, I didn't know Sakura was… so desperate!" she chuckled, shaking her head.

I looked at her inquiringly.

"Really," she continued. "I thought she was smart—she's always in the top five!" she rolled her eyes. "What she's doing is cheap, and degrading. The hell is she chasing Sasuke-kun for, anyway?"

I thought this was kind of harsh, so I said, "um, maybe Sasuke-kun did something to her…"

Ino-chan rolled her eyes again. "Oh, Hinata! You're too nice! You're so nice you're dense!"

"What?" I asked, confused, but not offended.

She smiled and shook her head. "_I _have a crush on Sasuke-kun, but I'm not quite disillusioned. I'm actually quite sure I don't have a chance."

"Don't be silly, Ino-chan," I reproved her gently. She was tall, very pretty, and cheerful. What's not to like? I'm sure she can have a big chance with Sasuke-san!

Gasps of shock suddenly arose, and we swiveled around to see Sakura-san on top of Sasuke-san, whose right arm was twisted at an odd angle.

"DAMMIT, SAKURA!" Sasuke-san roared. "GET OFF ME! GOD, ARE YOU _THAT _DESPERATE FOR ATTENTION!"

Sakura-san got up reluctantly, and I saw a tear fall from her cheek. She whispered something to him, and he glared at her. She got up and slowly walked away, obviously… rejected.

Sasuke-san was somewhat cruel, but I could see his point.

"Poor Sakura-san," I said, feeling sorry for her. I watched Sasuke-san get up, supporting his arm. There was no doubt about it: it was broken.

"Hinata, please. She was the one who chased him in the first place."

Sasuke-san looked like he had a storm cloud hanging over his head. To my surprise, he didn't head to our usual table, but went right over to us and sat beside me.

"Ah, S-Sasuke-san!" I exclaimed hastily. "Are you all right?"

"My arm hurts like hell," he said quietly. His eyes looked sort of glazed over; I imagine it was very painful.

"Hina-chan, don't you know First Aid?" Ino-chan asked anxiously.

I nodded quickly and pulled the triangular bandage I always bring from my pocket.

"Always ready, huh?" Ino-chan smiled at me, as she watched me.

I smiled back and immobilized his arm in a matter of seconds. "Come on, Sasuke-san, let's go to the infirmary and have it properly cast."

He frowned, looking at the table. "No."

"But, Sasuke-kun—"

"Hey, what happened?" Kiba-kun asked, with Shino-kun and Gaara standing beside him. "Naruto said he didn't know the rest after he got tired and gave up."

They sat on the remaining spaces. "Who did that?" Gaara asked, nodding at Sasuke-san's improvised sling.

"I'm sure Hinata-chan did that," Shino-kun answered.

Gaara looked thoughtful. Of course, no one knew that I was a trained First Aider, except Ino-chan, Shino-kun, Kiba-kun, and Neji-niisan.

"Sasuke-kun doesn't want to go to the infirmary," Ino-chan said, with a slight frown on her face.

"I'm fine," he growled, moving his immobilized arm a little.

"Bah, let him," Kiba-kun waved a hand in the air. "If he says he's fine, then he's fine. Hinata-chan bandaged him pretty nicely, look."

"Ah! Uh, well, he still needs proper attention… Sasuke-san, we'll go to the infirmary after class, all right?" I said, trying to sound firm.

He suddenly jerked upright, eyes wide. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "Yes, yes, I'll go! I'll go with you!"

…Why is Sasuke-san acting so weird? Was this really normal once you get to know him? I wonder if Naruto-kun always experienced this kind of behavior from Sasuke-kun…

"I'll go too," Gaara said.

I looked at both him and Sasuke-san curiously.

"I'll come with you," Shino-kun said quickly.

"Yeah, me too!" Kiba-kun seconded.

"Count me in!" Ino-chan said.

Really, what was wrong with everybody? Sasuke-san and I are only going to the infirmary after class!

"Kuso, I'm a cleaner tomorrow," Ino-chan grumbled beside me.

Something clicked. "Oh no," I said, dismayed. "Gaara and I are cleaners today! Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, can you bring Sasuke-san to the infirmary later?"

"No, I'll wait for you, Hinata-san," Sasuke-san replied rather hastily.

I smiled at him. "Sasuke-san, you've waited that arm long enough," I said gently.

"But—"

"No buts, Sasuke-kun. Don't argue with Hinata-chan," Ino-chan said.

I smiled at her, and she grinned back.

"…Fine…" he said. "Are you finished with the characters?" he pulled the notebook we were writing on closer to him. He studied it for a moment, and then looked up at us. "Is this finished?"

"Those are the major ones," Ino-chan answered. "Hinata-chan said she'd add some minor ones if needed." She fingered her beautiful blond hair carelessly.

"Good." He looked up at me, and half-smiled. "I have faith in you, Hinata-san."

Something stirred in me, and I fought the urge to hug him. This was actually only the second time in seventeen years someone told me that, the first one being Neji-niisan.

But this, this was different! This was Sasuke-san! He said he had faith in me, and I knew he meant it!

"Th-thank you, Sasuke-san," I half-whispered, trying to hide the coloring of my cheeks.

**

* * *

**

I looked in pride at Sasuke-san standing before the class, tossing the chalk and catching it again and again. Having been elected as our class president, he was presiding in our election.

"Who are in favor of _Haruno _for vice-president?" he said Sakura-san's surname like it was a… disease. I guess he was still upset at her because she broke his arm. Despite that, many people still raised their hands, and by majority, Sakura-san was elected.

Sasuke-san wrote her name on the board rather clumsily because he was using his left hand. I wonder if his arm is still hurting him. He erased the candidates' names and wrote something. I craned my neck to see, but it was impossible.

When he turned to face us, I was surprised—no, shocked!—to see what was written on the board.

_Hyuuga Hinata_

"The table is now open for the position of secretary, and Hyuuga Hinata is nominated," Sasuke-san said.

"WE CLOSE THE NOMINATION!" some of my classmates shouted.

"WE SECOND THE MOTION!" I recognized Kiba-kun's, Naruto-kun's, Shino-kun's, and Ino-chan's voices among the rest.

Are they really determined to give shy, invisible Hyuuga Hinata a position? I felt mildly overwhelmed.

For the first time, Sasuke-san grinned—in front of the class. Many of the girls swooned.

Sasuke-san has really nice teeth.

"Hyuuga Hinata is nominated as secretary unanimously. Congratulations," he said, starting to clap.

The whole class followed, accompanied by cheers from Kiba-kun and Naruto-kun.

Knees shaking, I made my way to the front. I gave a tentative smile to Sasuke-san, and he gave me the chalk, with the same half-smile as before. I wiped his writing and replaced it with my own.

"The table is now open for the position of treasurer. Any nominees?"

I stood poised, ready to write.

"Yes?" I heard Sasuke-san say. "Aburame Shino is nominated. Any other nominees?"

I smiled to myself and wrote Shino-kun's name. I hope he wins!

"You. Chang Thayassa is nominated. Yes? Ichigo Aki is nominated. The nomination is closed. Any objections? All right. We now proceed to the votation. Candidates, please stand up. All in favor of Aburame Shino, raise your hands. Majority vote. Aburame Shino is our new treasurer."

I turned and gave Shino-kun a smile and wrote his name on the board. The rest of the elections went on similarly, except there was a rather difficult tie with the P.R.O., muse, and escort. Here is the list of officers:

III-Shinya Class Officers

**President**: Uchiha Sasuke

**Vice-President**: Haruno Sakura

**Secretary**: Hyuuga Hinata

**Treasurer**: Aburame Shino

**Auditor**: Akimichi CHouji

**P.R.O.**: Inuzuka Kiba

**Business Manager**: Nara Shikamaru

**Sergeant at Arms**: Sabaku Gaara

**Muse**: Yamanaka Ino

**Escort**: Uzumaki Naruto

Anko-sensei made us go to the front, facing the class. Chouji-san, who was beside me, was sneaking bites of chips. "These are your officers, III-Shinya. Now, I'm only here during your Math in the morning and attendance checking in the afternoon, so I can't monitor you all the time. Whether you like it or not, the class officers will take charge once I leave." She turned to us. "Officers, any words?"

Uchiha Sasuke-san: "Always follow your officers. After all, you elected us."

Haruno Sakura-san: "Always follow Sasuke-kun! Don't be too noisy! Don't throw your trash under your chairs, and pass your projects on time!"

Me: "Um… Thank you for voting me, minna… Please cooperate with us."

Aburame Shino-kun: "…Pay the class fund on time…"

Akimichi Chouji-san: "…Uh, what they said!"

Inuzuka Kiba-kun: "Respect us always, cooperate with us, and don't forget to shut up when I'm making announcements!"

Nara Shikamaru-san: "Che… Don't be troublesome…"

Sabaku Gaara: Glare.

Yamanaka Ino-chan: "Thanks for voting me! Well do our best!"

Uzumaki Naruto-kun: "Ha! Sasuke-baka isn't the escort! Don't worry, minna, we're going to be the best officers!"

Everybody clapped politely, and Anko-sensei said, "you heard them! III-Shinya, I expect a lot from you. You're different from the other sections. You belong to Shinya. Not III-Mana, Reiko, Miyavi, Gotoh, Tetsu, or Hisashi. You're the cream of the crop. It doesn't matter if you're smart or not; if you have discipline, you'll easily accomplish a mission—er, task. Can I expect discipline from you, III-Shinya?

There was a faint, "yes, ma'am," from the class.

"Very nice," Kakashi-sensei's voice came from the doorway. The whole class turned to him. He was probably looking in on classes. As far as I knew, he was a non-adviser. "Yo," he greeted, stepping inside.

"Good afternoon, sir," some stood up.

"Kakashi-sensei," Anko-sensei nodded at him.

His eye curved upward, and he went beside Anko-sensei. "Aside from discipline, all of you must work as one team, especially the officers. You won't be efficient leaders if you disagree with each other. Discipline is important in an individual; cooperation is important in a group. Always remember that, Shinya."

I looked at Kakashi-sensei admiringly. I never knew he was capable of serious statements! But then again, appearances could be deceiving. I marveled at the gravity of his words. Had he been listening to Anko-sensei's speech from the beginning? If so, then we hadn't noticed him! Then again, Anko-sensei had a way of inducing fear in us even if she so much as moved.

Anko-sensei half-smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's right, Shinya. Discipline, cooperation, and respect. Especially for those who intend to enter the CAT and become an officer."

The CAT (Citizen Advancement Training) is the military program of Konoha High. Near the end of third year, aspirants are given a written test. Those who pass undergo leadership training during the vacation, and when they make it through the training, they are declared as officers. Our Physical Education in third year will be CAT in fourth year. And instead of Gai-sensei, officers are the ones to train and teach the fourth years who aren't part of the Scouts.

I should know, because Neji-niisan's the Corps Commander. The corps is the position given to the highest-ranked male during the training.

"I know many of you want to join the training, that's why it is important to practice now," Anko-sensei said.

"I'm surprised she hasn't said anything about Neji," Shino-kun whispered to me.

"Maybe she still doesn't know," I whispered back.

Kakashi-sensei apprised each one of us. "Gambatte, officers," his eye curved upward again. "Ja," he said, raising his hand in farewell, and in his usual slouch, walked—slunk—away.

Anko-sensei dismissed the class half an hour early, and we started to clean.

The Thursday cleaners finished quickly, and I was surprised to see Shino-kun, Kiba-kun, Ino-chan, Naruto-kun, and Sasuke-san on the corridor, waiting for me and Gaara. I looked questioningly at them.

"Well, come on," Ino-chan said, taking me by hand.

"Huh? Where are we going?" I asked, keeping up with her.

"To the infirmary," she answered, "to have Sasuke-kun's arm cast."

"But—but I thought—"

"He refused to come along," Kiba-kun said dryly. "He seems to enjoy giving us all a headache with that thick head of his," he added pointedly.

Sasuke-san, who was walking slightly before Kiba-kun, scoffed.

"Is the bandage still okay, Sasuke-san?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he replied. "I still can't move my hand."

When we arrived at the infirmary, Shizune-san, the school nurse, who knew us quite well, raised an eyebrow. "Well, what do we have? Do all of you have injuries?"

"Ah, no, Shizune-san, only Sasuke-kun," Ino-chan said, and Kiba-kun pushed him forward, earning a glare from Sasuke-san.

"Oh, I see," she nodded disapprovingly. "Did you do this, Hinata?" she gestured to the bandages.

"Hai," I replied in a low voice.

She smiled a little. "I'm glad someone took to heart what I was teaching." She tapped Sasuke-san's arm. He grimaced, but didn't say anything. "What caused this?" she asked him.

He flushed red and looked away. "A girl tackled me," he muttered.

"Ah," she said, satisfied. "Sakura."

She really knew us quite well.

When Sasuke-san was finished, we went out into the late afternoon sunshine. There were some students sitting by the mango trees, and I could hear a chorus of voices from the student hall. Neji-niisan's meeting still wasn't over, then.

"Hey, I have a great idea!" Naruto-kun exclaimed. We all listened, because his first great idea brought all of us—with the exception of Ino-chan—together.

"Well, what is it, dobe?" Sasuke-san asked, smirking. Naruto-kun wanted to sign his cast, but Sasuke-san would have absolutely none of it.

"Since all of us are officers, why don't we celebrate?" Kiba-kun suggested.

"Hey, you stole my idea!" Naruto-kun wailed, pouting.

"You're too loud, dobe," Sasuke-san said. "So, where do we celebrate?"

Ino-chan drew me closer to her. "You know, Sasuke-san keeps surprising me this year," she said quietly.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," I replied. "He's… changed."

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "He's not much of an arrogant half-assed jerk anymore. What do you think brought this on?" She linked her arm with mine, a gesture that surprised and pleased me very much.

I smiled at that. "I certainly don't know, Ino-chan. He doesn't confide much in any of us, even to Naruto-kun, I think."

"But I think it's nice," Ino-chan said contemplatively. "It's a nice change—one for the better. Although now, my rivals would be more determined than ever." She chuckled.

"Why don't we ask Shino-kun?" I suggested. "He's… um… good at reading body language. His father is a psychologist, and he taught Shino-kun how to analyze people since he was nine," I added proudly. Sometimes it bothered me that Shino-kun could read me so easily, but it was also convenient, because I didn't have to hide anything from him.

"Okay. Come on," she said, and we fell into step beside Shino-kun.

"Is this about Sasuke?" he asked us.

Ino-chan looked surprised, and I smiled. "See?" I said, and gave her a nudge.

"You never said he could read minds," she said jokingly.

"Shino-kun… What do you think happened to Sasuke-kun?" I asked him.

"His arm got broken," he replied flatly.

"That's not what I meant!" I pushed him playfully. "Uh… Well… Don't you think he's… um…"

"Changed? Yes," he replied. Ino-chan drew closer.

"Do you know why?" she asked him.

"No, I don't. I… can only guess," he said slowly.

"Tell us what you think, then," Ino-chan said. She looked up at him. "Surely you've been observing him?"

**

* * *

**

Shino couldn't bring himself to say, _"as a matter of fact, I do, and Hinata-chan's the reason why Sasuke's being close to nice."_ No. Of course not.

Shino couldn't bring himself to say, No. Of course not. 

He sighed, more to himself. "Not as closely as needed, Ino-san," he answered, and observed Ino and Hinata's reactions. Ino merely raised an eyebrow, and Hinata bowed her head, smiling a little.

"That's okay, Shino-kun," she said softly.

"Hey, can you watch him from now on?" Ino asked, looking up at him. He was a head taller than her, even if she was pretty tall herself. "I mean, you know. Observe him."

"What for?" he asked. "Is there something in particular that you need of him?"

"Uh, well… Not really…" Ino looked away. "Not exactly. We just wanted to know something. Ne, Hinata-chan?"

"Right," she answered, nodding.

Shino allowed himself to smile at the two of them. Hinata never really had any female friends during childhood, and growing up. It had always been the three of them—Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. She was never sociable, and preferred to keep to herself. It was good that Hinata had Ino as a friend. She was friendly and nice, although a little neurotic and obsessive at times. Their family owned the largest flower shop, but she never bragged about it, even if most of her customers were males who bought only for the sake of seeing her. She never even thought about it.

Women had a certain level of density when it came to their own love affairs.

A.N.: Yay! Here I am again! It's the longest chapter I've done; hope you guys like it! Hm, well, there's some kind of Sakura bashing here… I won't beat around the bush. I HATE SAKURA. I hate her hate her hate her! Really! She's a freaking pain in the ass. Sorry if I offended some Sakura supporters, but hey. Freedom of speech! XD And since Ino's my second favorite girl, I'm putting her in here! She plays kind of a big part in the sequel… Hihihi… I love Ino! XD Anyway, have some of you noticed I used names of jrockers for the sections? XD

And I've decided to speed up the update a little… Due to some… eherm… _friendly warnings _I got in my mail. XD

Responses…

**chinadoll27: **Thanks a lot for reviewing!

**Kiyoko-San: **Hm, I'm still trying to fit Orochimaru in… heeheehee… That said, I think this fic will reach up to 20 chapters. You up for reviewing that? XP Hm… You don't have to destroy Stalker Kiba… But you can do anything you want with him as long as I get to keep my pillow! **-glomps the pillow-** Oh, you're not supposed to be online, but you were… **–wags finger-** naughty naughty!

**lunarangel: **Hm, well, I'm making Kakashi kind of a sadist in here! XD Especially if I pair him up with Iruka… Yeah, yeah you're right! XD Sasuke was chasing Naruto with all the intention of incapacitating him. Hm, wow! Kiba! XD what was the snack you gave him, anyway? Maybe it has some kind of love potion on it, eh? XP Did it feel real? I've had some dreams, not necessarily nightmares, which feel like they were really happening. Hm… in the anime, I don't think Kiba has a crush on Hinata. He's more like a protective brother… Ah, well, I don't really know for sure!

**Kichou: **Wow! A review from one of the greatest SasuHina writers of all time! XD Sometimes I can't believe my luck. XD

**ebenezem: **Fear not! Your sanity shall stay with you until the next update. Teehee! Thank you!

**Blackangeltwin1: **Well, here ya are! Want fries with that? Kidding! **–winks-**

**white tiger: -gasps- **Is that a threat? **–gasps again- **Mommyyyyyy! Some weird person is threatening me! XDXD Aw, just kidding. XD You want me to tell you who Hinata chooses or you want to find out for yourself?

**payday: **Thank you so much:D And I love fireworks!

**sil3ntxspirit: **Oh, you liked it? XD Okay, every time I put a chase scene I'll write about his incredibly sexy flying hair. XDXD I love his hair too! XD It looks like a black porcupine or something equally nejified… In a good way, of course!

**Morbed-Kai: **Aww, thank you so mush! XD I mean… Thank you so much. :D I promise not to let it get out of hand and make it as believable as possible! XD

**OspreyAnimeG: **Wow, you liked the flashback! Thank you! Actually, they're my weakest point, along with… Cream puffs! XD Kidding aside, I really do suck at flashbacks. XD I'm glad you liked it!

**Kuu-sama: **Yup, Jiji's going to be in here! (I borrowed 'Jiji' from **bite the hand that feeds**, who wrote a beautiful Kaka-centric fic, **Butterfly in Reverse**. Make sure to check it out!)

**Moonsnow Neko: **Yay! Thanks for being open to suggestions! XD Sorry for not being able to review it, though… But I'm still reading it, don't worry! XD I'll probably drop a line sometime..

**Shanice Miharu: **Thanks! **–scatters confetti around- **Yup, they're all together! XD Except Sakura, who I totally… eherm… despise, for lack of kinder word.

**Frosted shadowz: **Yes, Naruto's fine! XD He's alive and kicking! XD After all, I kind of need him for the sequel. XD I will probably kill off someone here, or in the sequel, though. XD

**Lems: **Wow, thanks! XD Yup, I read Torn and Ironically Dramatic! I am a huge fan of those two! XD Except I can't find the time to review… But I really enjoy both. XD Yeah, if Shino didn't have brown hair, he might pass off as Sasuke's relative. XD Except he doesn't have the Sharingan. XD

**kai-itachi21: **Yup, he is! XD But I don't want to make him look like a bodyguard, though. XD Wow, 800 meters! Niice! Go Neji!

**shikaruTo: **Waiii! Thank you for all the compliments! I can't believe you liked the flashback! Ooh. T-T Well, she won't be the only girl now… Actually I was bothered a little by it, because Neji might make her sit with him instead, because she's surrounded by five guys. XD But then Ino comes along! I love you Ino! XD Aww… Kiba doesn't have a crush on Hinata anymore, though… XD Too many cooks spoil the broth, I guess. XD Yup, he does play an important role! XD I love Shino! I'll try to make use of his skills as often as I can. XD

**fried ryce: **Thank you so much! And for the criticism (kind of) too! XD Actually… Well… I felt the same too… There was no… magic in what I wrote in the flashback. XD But as I said, I suck at flashbacks. XD I'll make up for it, though! Hmm, and thanks also for the suggestion on the project! I'm actually having kind of a hard time with it. XD

**Jasmine Starlight: **Yup, I have two PVs for Rewrite! XD It's so darn cool! Oh, Ready, Steady, Go? I like L'ArcenCiel, but not really that much… Dunno… Some poser girl in school liked Laruku too, and I stopped enjoying it. XD I don't know Gravitation, though! All I know is that it's yaoi… **-giggles-**

**hatami: **Um..? Thanks..:D


	9. Relationships

Neji watched Hinata brush her hair, leaning on the doorframe of her room. "How many are they again?" he asked, eyes narrowed, referring to the number of Hinata's classmates coming over later.

"Four," she replied, working out a tangle. "Um… nii-san… You—you don't mind if I ask you a favor?" she covered her mouth, coughing.

"Sure," he replied automatically. "No problem." Hinata asking for a favor was few and far between, so he had never grown accustomed to saying no to her almost every time.

"Um, well…" If he had been looking, he would have seen Hinata trying to hide a smile. "Can you… um… please bake us a snack? You know, for our meeting?"

_Oh, crap, baking. _"Hm, I—uh—_think _I have a meeting with my co-officers at lunch," he lied.

"Oh, but, nii-san… You said…" she bit her lip and her face fell. "It-it doesn't matter anyway… Never mind…"

_Maa! What have I done? Baka! Now what do I do? _"I'll still bake," he said quickly. "Don't worry. It's okay."

Her face brightened. "Really? Thank you, nii-san!" She smiled warmly at him. "I left a recipe and ingredients on the counter. Thank you so much!"

_Crappity crap crap. I sure hope it won't be for damn mint chocolate-chip cookies. _He tried to smile. "Okay." He cleared his throat. He recalled his first attempt at baking mint chocolate-chip cookies. It was the first day of school, and Lee and TenTen barely stopped short of gagging in front of him.

Needless to say, it was not a success.

He scowled to himself.

"I'm sure you'll do great," she turned to him again, smiling. "Better than… um… the last time." She coughed again.

"What time are they coming here?" he asked. "I'm not going to let in any one of them if you're not here."

"Don't worry. Our meeting is at two, and I'll be here by one."

Hinata's cell phone beeped. She picked it up from her bed and read the message. She looked at him, eyes wide.

"What is it?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head quickly, erasing the message. "N-nothing."

* * *

_Oh my gosh, Hanabi's coming! _Hinata thought frantically, unconsciously turning to Neji. She was going to leave in a few minutes, and Neji would be alone in the house.

And Hanabi was arriving in an hour.

_Nii-san's going to kill me for leaving him alone with her!_

"What is it?" he asked from her doorway, his eyebrows drawing together. "Is something wrong?"

_Oh, I really wish I was here to watch the two of them, _she thought morosely. _They're so funny together. _Her lips curled longingly. _And I hope nii-san forgives me if he finds out the recipe I left was for mint choco-chip cookies. _

The thing was, Hanabi was less refined than her sister. She meant well, but she was always getting into trouble. And Hanabi's favorite pastime was annoying Neji. Or bouncing a ball around the house, which was chock-full of breakable objects. Or unwittingly getting into trouble.

Neji always said he had a headache just by looking at Hanabi.

And now he was going to be alone with her, while Hinata spent the morning at the mall with Shino and Kiba, something the three of them did every Saturday morning since sixth grade. Neji knew and understood, and never gave her a reason not to go.

Hinata was torn between staying or going. She was the only one Hanabi ever listened to, and could always make Hanabi sit quietly in a corner. Neji, with all his CAT training and austerity, never could.

The doorbell rang, and Hinata uncertainly took her purse. Neji escorted her downstairs to the door.

"Um… Are you sure you're not coming with us?" she asked, even if she knew the answer.

"No," he replied. He put his hand on the doorknob. "Take care of yourself."

"All right," she said, looking down and biting her lip.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, she hugged him. "Erm… Good luck, nii-san… and sorry…" she said, slipping out the door before giving him a chance to answer.

At the mall, Hinata had a hard time navigating through the crowd, sidestepping people as she went. Occasionally, Shino held her elbow to keep her from getting carried away. The mall was fuller than usual. Beside her, Kiba never stopped ranting about the ridiculous price at Sbarro, the new Italian restaurant near the bookstore.

"I think that's Gaara," Shino pointed to a flash of bright red.

Hinata smiled to herself. Gaara didn't like drawing attention to himself, but with his hair, it was hard not to.

They stepped aside to let a crowd of giggling mini-skirted girls pass, most of whom were staring hungrily at Shino and Kiba.

"Hey, that's Gaara!" Kiba stopped his tirade and pointed to Gaara, and his companions. "OI, GAARA!"

Gaara turned to them and partially raised an eyebrow. A blond woman with spiky pigtails and lavender mesh blouse was hanging on to his arm. A tall man with a darker hair color than Gaara's rested against the railings, flipping a lighter open and closed.

"I didn't know Gaara liked older chicks," Kiba snickered. "Come on!"

Hearing this, Hinata felt heat rising up within her. Suddenly, she wanted to hurt someone.

Kiba led them to where Gaara and his companions were. Feeling very self-conscious and still unexplainably irritated, Hinata lagged behind. _What does that girl think she's doing! Doesn't she have any shame? _She looked away and saw a couple kissing inside a restaurant, but didn't feel anything. She looked at the blond woman again, who was hugging Gaara's arm, and looking around. _But she's certainly prettier than me, _she thought unhappily.

_What's the matter with me? Am I jealous? _She shook her head, ridding her mind of bothersome thoughts.

"Kiba," Gaara said, nodding to him, and also to Shino. He then looked at Hinata, who was wishing for the earth to open up and swallow her whole.

_Blink_

_Blink_

_Blink_

_Clear throat_

"You… look… very pretty today… Hinata-san…" he said slowly, looking her up and down.

Hinata's self-consciousness intensified. She was wearing baby blue cropped pants, a white sleeveless shirt, and blue flats. It was particularly dressy for her, because it was a slight deviation from her usual capris and jacket.

_I'm glad he likes it, _she thought, a blush staining her cheeks.

"You l-look very n-n-nice too," she said, almost in a whisper, gulping inwardly. He wore a slightly oversized white shirt with red trim, black denim shorts, and white slippers. The effect was quite astonishing, as it heightened Gaara's paleness and the vivacity of his hair color more. He looked better in casual clothes than in school uniform.

_He looks really… hot…_

_Maa, Hinata! What are you thinking!_

* * *

Gaara swallowed his uneasiness, and looked Hinata up and down again. He couldn't believe _this _was what she was hiding under her uniform.

_Be cool, _he thought to himself, remembering Temari's lesson. _Be confident, but don't overdo it. _

It was very strange. He felt his throat (and groin) tighten, and his heart was beating abnormally fast and loud, he was almost sure everyone passing by could hear.

"Wow! Hi! So you must be Hinata!" Temari let go of his arm and broke the awkward silence that was starting to build up. "I'm Temari, Gaara's sister. Gaara's told me a lot about you." She leaned over to whisper in Hinata's ear, and Hinata turned red.

"That-that c-can't be t-t-true," she stuttered, looking down.

So. She was nervous. Her stutter was coming back in full force. Without meaning to, a smirk played upon his lips.

"Eh? What the hell are you smirking at?" Kiba asked him, an eyebrow raised.

_He sounds like Naruto. _He spared a glance at Kiba. _He even looks a little like Naruto. _

"None of your business," he replied. He looked over at Kankurou. He was standing near the entrance of a stall, while a salesgirl tried to flirt with him. Gaara snorted to himself.

Temari was still chattering away to Hinata, who looked genuinely interested.

Without warning, he pinched her arm.

"Ow!" she yelled, turning to him. "Dammit, can't you see I'm in the middle of a conversation?" She rubbed her arm furiously.

He glared at her.

She glared back. And then something clicked. "Oh, right." She smiled mischievously. "All yours."

"…Sorry about Temari…" he said when she left their side. "She gets… carried away. Most of the time."

"That's o-okay," she said a little nervously, smiling faintly. "She's really nice."

Neither said anything for ten seconds.

"I… um… what—uh…" Hinata started to say.

"Temari forced us to," he said dryly. "Kankurou and I were going to play some video games, but she just had to _see _the mall."

Hinata smiled at that.

"And you?" he asked, smiling a little to make her feel at ease.

"We always c-come here, um… every Saturday morning," she answered, "since sixth grade."

"Do you want to have lunch together?" he suddenly asked her.

Hinata opened and closed her mouth, unblinking. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She was _very _red.

"I-I-uh-um… When?" she finally managed to choke out.

"Today," he replied evenly, enjoying her reaction.

"I-uh, well, uh, what about—Shino-kun? And Kiba-kun?" she asked, flustered, wringing her hands nervously.

"Temari will take care of them," he said, gesturing behind him, where the three of them were engrossed in conversation. He took her hand. "Come on, he said.

"Uh… Wh-where are we going?" she asked him, stumbling a little.

He squeezed her hand in reply.

* * *

Neji's jaw clenched and unclenched, his mind not really on mixing the cookie batter.

The sounds of a basketball being dribbled resonated from the second floor, directly above him.

Then a splintering crash.

Then—

"HANABIIIIII! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW!" Neji promptly forgot about the batter, accidentally nudged the mint extract, and charged upstairs.

He flung open the door next to his room.

The scene that greeted him wasn't uplifting.

Habai, Hinata's younger sister (a skinnier replica of Hinata with longer, somewhat messier hair), looked up at him, identical pearl eyes wide and "innocent" looking.

"What. Have, You. Done." Neji's gaze shifted to the full-length mirror—what was once of it. Numerous shards littered the floor. An innocent looking basketball stood beside it.

"Neji!" Hanabi shot up and clung to him, her slender arms winding themselves around his waist. "How's the baking going?"

Scowling, Neji untagled her arms from him. He pointed to the broken mirror. "Explain."

Hanabi looked up at him. "The ball… slipped?" she grinned up at him apologetically.

"And where do you want me to get the money to pay for the mirror you broke?"

"We could pool our allowances." She laced her fingers together. "And then we can shop for a new mirror! Won't that be fun?"

"Mo—" he started to say, but stopped. "No," he replied coldly. "As I recall, I wasn't involved in breaking that expensive mirror."

"Eh? How do you know it's expensive? How much is it worth, anyway? Why are you fussing about that old mirror?"

"It costs 256,000." He had the same mirror in his room.

Hanabi's eyes shone. "Sugoi! You're really a genius, Neji! Ne, ne! How do you know the price, Neji? Huh? Tell meee!"

Neji bit his lip so hard it began to bleed. He had almost forgotten how Hanabi was _infuriating. _"Never mind," he said through gritted teeth. "Clean up the shards. I'll call your father about this." He turned on his heel and stalked out.

* * *

"I-isn't that Kakashi-sensei? And Iruka-sensei?" I pointed to two tall figures inside a toy shop. They had their backs to us, but the spiky brown hair and spiky silver hair were giveaways.

Gaara watched them intently for a while. "It's them," he confirmed, giving a gentle pressure on my hand.

I blushed. I wasn't used to anyone holding my hand, even Neji-niisan. And now, Gaara wasn't giving a sign that he'd let go anytime soon. I… liked it.

_What would nii-san say if he saw me?_

Suddenly, Kakashi-sensei took Iruka-sensei's hand and Iruka-sensei rested his head on Kakashi-sensei's shoulder.

I blinked twice. I've read a lot about relationships like these, but I've never encountered any of them before. I took a step closer.

"Um, come on," I said, tugging Gaara's hand and moving closer to the toy shop.

"Hinata-san, the restaurants are the other way," Gaara reminded me.

"Um… Uh-huh," I said. I wanted to get a closer look at my two teachers. They were moving down the aisle, still in the same position. Then, Kakashi-sensei's hand let go, and he put his arm around Iruka-sensei, who moved closer.

"Hinata-san," Gaara said.

"I… I want to buy a stuffed bear," I said, "for my sister."

Well… I knew Hanabi really doesn't like bears, but I had to see Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei together. In all of my seventeen years, I had never encountered a man-to-man relationship before, much less regaled with stories about it.

Besides, it might be a good idea to make Hanabi start being a lady.

Gaara frowned, but when I looked at the bears in the sales rack with what I hoped was longing, he finally loosened his grip on me and let me lead the way.

We entered the shop, the bell in above the door tinkling softly. I moved furtively to the aisle next to where Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei were. I could hear them talking, and moved closer to hear them, pretending to inspect the bears on the sales rack.

"…Yes, this would be perfect next to that red pillow of yours."

"I think this one is better."

"Why don't we just buy both? And we can _enjoy _them later. And maybe after that…" I could feel Kakashi-sensei smirking from where I was.

"Oh, Kashi, stop," Iruka-sensei giggled nervously. "Look, this one is cute too."

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe I was hearing a private conversation between my two male teachers. And for once, I don't hear them talking about the next topic, or recitations.

They were talking about stuffed bears! I smiled to myself. _Every day brings new discoveries…_

Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei moved to another aisle, and I started to follow, when I felt something tug at my hand.

I looked behind me, and smiled apologetically. I forgot Gaara was still anchored to my arm!

"Hinata-san, you're _stalking_," he said. I didn't know if he was repulsed or amused.

On the other hand, I didn't realize I was stalking my two teachers. I was content to follow them and learn more about their relationship, but…

I could vividly imagine Ino-chan saying, "when you see two of your teachers being intimate, you shouldn't pass up the chance to know more!"

_Yes, _I thought, _that's exactly what Ino-chan would have said. _

"Oh, was I…?" I bit my lip and stared at the floor, too embarrassed to look at Gaara in the face. "I… I'm sorry… Um… Lunch?" I smiled sheepishly at the floor.

* * *

**A/N: **Waaaa sorry for the too-long delay! I know you guys must have been tired of waiting for the update, but well, here it is. I've been too busy with whatnots in school, especially for our school newspaper. -.- Anyway, thank you SO much for your reviews! I really appreciate them. And sorry also for the too-short chapter, I know it's crappy and all. I put a little yaoi in here, and it's too late to remove it now, haha. **–evil grin- **Hope you guys like this one anyway! Oh, and I know there just too many PV changes, and I know Xoni warned me against it, but… You guys just tell me if you're getting too confused and I'll write labels, okay?

Responses…

**Meep: -makes you get up-** Don't beg! I get even guiltier when my reviewers do that. Yes, here is the update, don't worry, okay?

**thunder sister: **Aw. When you put on those cute hinata eyes, I'm in love with you too. XD

**Ramihel: **Aww, thanks so much. XD

**watashi-shorty-kun: **Yeah, you got that right! XD Impossible but undeniably cute. Omg. I must not have flames, yes? XD Don't worry, I live in a tropical area so I can take the heat. I hope. XD

**hopeless-flame: **I'm sorry to ruin your hopes, but this chapter is just too _puke-y_ to be called good. I'm really sorry. I'll try better next time, though.

**OspreyAnimeG: **Thanks so much! I put a lot of effort in their interaction, and I'm glad you liked it.

**shikaruTo: **I am so sorry I haven't been reviewing your stories! Don't worry, I'll make it up, you'll see! Anyway, thanks SO much for the long review. XD Thanks for the constructive comment too… I'll do better! Yes! I love Hinata and Ino as friends! I think they click well together, don't you think? If only Masashi Kishimoto gave Hinata more air time… **-sighs- **And thank you for noticing Naruto! I'm having a hard time with him! XD

**Lems: **Sorry about the officers… Well… I'm not going to put much concentration on that part, but then again… Yay, Torn updated! Mg, I am so out of touch with the ff world.

**KatReyusaki: **Thanks! Well, here it is. XD And yes, I am the master at stating the obvious. XD

**Shanice Miharu: **Hm, ShinoIno sounds nice… In fact, I've been thinking about it for a while… You're right, Hinata should be in 7… Hayy grabe. XD Kasi naman nilagay pa si Sakura eh. o.O Oh yeah, reminder lang… Post ng post, ne? XD Take care and thanks!

**sil3ntxspirit: **Totally! XD Wow, thanks for the constructive comment! I love you! XD I'll do my best!

**newblue: **I'm afraid you won't like this chapter… **-sighs- **I'll do better next time, though… Anyway… Thanks!

**Xoni: **Thanks for noticing the weirdness. I'm trying not to make it a mushy romantic type. XD And I'll keep the POV changes in mind, too.

**kenshinlover2002: **Yes, that is the great question, isn't it? Well, if you want to know… I'll tell you… XD But then all the fun will be gone. :(

**Blackangeltwin1: **Oh, a GaaHina fan! Well… You'll be pleasantly shocked… And surprised… XD Don't be confused! Just review! Ahahaha! XD

**chinadoll27: **Yeah, I put it there in a moment of weakness, but it turned out nicely… I think. XD Thanks!

**Everlasting Freak: **Omg, thank you so much! As much as I want to… I can't do that… She has to suffer little by little… Until she snaps! XD Wahahaha! And THEN she gets 'accidentally' run over. Nice, ne? XD

**hatami: **Wow, my sleeping stuffs are endangered. O.O I'm going to take a Spanish class in college so I can understand you. Nyahaha. XD I'm trying to even the score on both Gaara and Sasuke, so you guys will be confused, okay? XD Hahahaha!

**khmer shinobi: **Waaah! I'm sorry! I haven't gotten around to reviewing your story too! I feel so guilty. Anyway, thank you thank you! XD I'm trying to fit in Orochimaru too, but when he comes, well… You be the judge!

**Kichou: **Thanks! Well, yeah, I think you're one of the greatest SasuHina writers, and I'm just really glad you're reviewing my fic. Teehee. XD Thanks for the comments on Ino, I love her too! Somehow, I don't think Sakura will be as nice as Ino. Or maybe I'm prejudiced. XD And also on Sasuke too! I'm having a little of a hard time with him, to tell the truth.

**mUcHaChAnGiStAriRaY: **Thank you thank you! Hm, well, about Alone No More… Wah! I'm running out of ideas on that one. But if ever I get something, I'll update, okay:D

**Kiyoko-san: **Yeah, it feels weird not to be typing DFGH. XD Hm. Well, I don't know about ShikaTema… It'll probably not work, but, well… Okay, I'll quit blathering now. XD Hahaha! As always, thanks for the weirdly entertaining review! You go on and roll on this update too, although I can't say anything much about it except that it sucks. And it's puke-y. And nejified. I said too much. O.O Peace. :D

**Moonsnow Neko: **Thanks for the review! And now, here is your cookie. :p

**xxxMizukixxx: **This chapter is short, by way of offsetting the last one. Wahaha. XD Look at me blab. XD Yes, well, I am going to make Sakura suffer! Muhahaha! Rejoice! XD

**Morbed-Kai: **Thanks! XD I am so touched. Man. XD Really, I am. Well, I'm trying my best:D

Whoever you are, yes, she would know.

**Kuu-sama: **Thanks! Hm, well, I was planning on something like that! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing too!

**Maynar Namiya: **Thank you thank you thank you! Thank you so much! Thanks! XD I'm really happy about your reaction. Hopefully, I'll stick with this story and finish it, without it getting crappy somewhere in the middle.

**Jasmine Starlight: **Yes, there's yaoi in here! Waha! Rejoice! XD No way! Ishida is Sasuke's seiyuu? Omg! I did not know that! Thank you! Omg! Omg! I can't believe it! **–dances around- **Yes, I have Orange Range. I love them! They're really cool, ne? I love Asterisk! XD And Do As Infinity, God, I love them to bits! I only have Yotaka no Yume and Tooku Made, but they're really great! XD And I'm off in a tangent again. **–sighs-**


	10. Humiliation

Hinata tried to focus on the meeting, but couldn't. She could still feel the warmth of Gaara's hand on hers. She tried to think about their English project, but it was no use. Gaara and everything about him invaded her mind.

The two of them had lunch earlier without Shino, Kiba, or any of his siblings. Just the two of them.

The conversation they had revealed interesting things about him, like:

1) he and his sister had asthma

2) his father owned an oil company and never stayed long in one place (something that made her want to cry)

3) he excelled in written tests better than oral ones

4) Temari tried to dye his hair blond when they were younger, which turned his hair orange (something he made her swear not to laugh at, tell anyone else, and ask any more questions about)

5) he didn't have any standard for liking girls, but he didn't like ones who throw themselves at him, like Sakura to Sasuke, and

6) he drank on quite a regular basis, usually with his siblings.

She wanted him to hold her hand again, and give that half-smile he so rarely did.

"Hey, what about snacks? I'm starving!" Naruto's complaint cut across her train of thought.

"Baka! You just ate!" Ino pounded him.

"I-I'll go see to it," Hinata said, hastily standing up. The papers and pen she forgot were in her lap fell to the floor. "S-sorry," she mumbled, picking them up and putting then on the table. She went to the kitchen, glad to have some time alone with her thoughts.

She rested her head on the counter, grateful for the cool surface. The distant sound of dribbling made her look up.

_That's good, _she thought, as she watched Neji and Hanabi play basketball. She smiled to herself and got up.

She turned around to see Shino standing at the doorway. "Shino-kun!" she squeaked.

"Hinata-chan. What's up?" he moved to sit on a bar stool.

"Huh?" she asked, feeling nervous. Shino knew that she had lunch with Gaara, so there was a good chance he had a line on her inner turmoil. Hinata picked up a card lying next to the tray of cookies her brother baked.

_I did it right this time. _the card read. She smiled to herself. She had faith in Neji and everything he did.

Shino rummaged in the cupboards and started mixing strawberry and lychee juice in a pitcher. "You're not acting yourself. Isn't this project important to you and vice versa?"

"Um… Is that so?" she transferred the cookies on a decorative plate. She pulled out a pack of chips from the pantry.

Shino took out five glasses and put them in a tray with the pitcher. He turned to look at Hinata. "Does this, by any chance, have something to do with Sabaku Gaara?"

Hinata colored up to the roots of her hair. She need not know how Shino knew. It was also useless lying to him, since he knew her inside and out, since childhood. Still, he generally gave good advice when she needed. "You caught me, Shino-kun."

"I see." His expression was unreadable. "You can't stop thinking about him, and you're surprised and pleased because this is the first time a boy treated you like that, excluding me, Kiba, and Neji."

Hinata's hands twisted around. She could always count on Shino to clear up her confused thoughts. "Yes," she said in barely a whisper.

"HEY! I'M STARVING HERE!" Naruto's voice could be heard, even behind the closed door.

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke and Ino both shouted.

"Come on," Shino said, picking up the tray. He started to go out the door, but Hinata stopped him.

"Sh-Shino-kun, I—"

"Don't worry. I won't tell."

* * *

Sasuke watched Hinata out of the corner of his eye. She looked like she had something on her mind. He noticed that ever since he came in the front door. She and Ino were talking—or, rather, Ino was talking while Hinata was listening, smiling quietly. 

Naruto, while trying to make a conversation with Shino (which proved little success), was intent on annihilating the chips.

He settled further in his chair and took a bite on his cookie—and immediately wished he hadn't.

His throat absolutely refused to let the morsel pass, but his mouth didn't want the taste to linger. It was either swallow it or puke.

He stifled a cough, and resisted the urge to puke. He tried not to let on that he was choking, afraid it might spell distaste for Hinata's baking.

Naruto—whether or not picking up on Sasuke's struggle with death or just being plain Naruto—looked at him quizzically. "Oi, what's up with you, baka?" he asked through a mouthful of Lay's.

Sasuke, temporarily out of commission, glared at him, wishing he would shut up. He felt the bile rise to his throat, mixing with the cookie, and making him want to spit out everything in his mouth.

Naruto moved behind him. "Oi, what's happening?" he asked again, a little worried this time.

To Sasuke's horror, Hinata and Ino took notice of the commotion in the making.

Ino noticed the half-eaten cookie on Sasuke's hand. "Oh yeah, I forgot about these. They smell good." She plucked one from the plate.

A strangled cry barely made it from Sasuke, what with all the froth in his mouth. He tried waving at Ino, but it was futile.

"You're acting weird," Naruto said, and gave Sasuke a good-natured thump on the back.

What happened next was enough to make anyone move to another country—after changing his name, faking his death, and having plastic surgery.

Sasuke, his guard down, _literally _barfed on the floor—on the carpet covering the floor of Hyuuga Hinata's house.

Hinata froze, a mixture of horror and shock on her face.

Ino followed with a violent cough, and grabbed the pitcher. She was in the middle of downing it when a fit of coughing overtook her. And the result? She inadvertently sprayed juice on the pitcher, and dribbled some down the front of her dress.

Naruto was doubled over in laughter, barely managing to breathe, while Shino was shaking with silent laughter.

A loud snap from the screen door in the kitchen indicated Neji and Hanabi's return inside the house.

* * *

Neji glared at Hanabi for slamming the screen door. Hinata and her groupmates were having a meeting in the living room, and here Hanabi was, disrupting it. "Come on," he told her sternly. "You can't hang around in here." 

"Why not?" Hanabi asked petulantly. "This is also my house, isn't it?"

"Your sister is having a meeting for her project just outside. Would you like to ruin it for her?" he asked sarcastically.

At the mention of Hinata, Hanabi quirked her eyebrows. "Oh. Okay. You didn't say so." She followed poured a glass of juice, and proceeded to follow her brother.

Neji opened and closed the kitchen door quietly, prepared to sneak quietly so as not to disturb the meeting, but the sight that greeted him didn't look like a meeting at all—more like a circus.

Hinata was frozen in her seat, staring at Sasuke. Ino was frantically wiping her shirt front, Naruto was curled on the floor, laughing his head off. Shino, in contrast, had his face buried in a pillow, his shoulders convulsively shaking, as a sign of silent laughter. Sasuke, his back to Neji, was staring down at _something. _

"What happened here?" he addressed Ino icily, who looked the sanest so far.

Ino raised her eyes to meet his, but lowered them down again, her hands wringing in her lap. "Um… Eh… Well, the cookies—"

"What about them?" he asked, his tone hard as flint. _What about the cookies I baked!_

"Um… Ah…"

"YOU ARE SO GROSS, SASUKE!" Naruto managed to shout between his laughter.

"What the—" Neji started to say.

"Oh, cookies!" Hanabi said. "You guys don't mind if I take one, do you?" she asked, quite oblivious to the weirdness of the scene.

"No—! Don't!" Ino cried out, but too late. Hanabi had popped one of Neji's cookies in her mouth. Instantly, she rushed to the kitchen. Everything present could hear the high blast of water and the sound of retching.

"Leave. Now." Neji found his voice, and the words came out in a furious hiss.

Hinata galvanized into life. "Oh, nii-san! You misunderstood—it was just—"

"I do not want to shout, Hinata-chan. Please ask your classmates to leave." He took a step forward and looked down on them. Then he saw it. "What is _that_?"

"Um, uh…" Hinata fumbled for words.

"It's Sasuke's barf. Duh." Naruto said who— by some miracle— had stopped laughing, and was now sitting beside Shino, who had also stopped laughing and was sitting up straight, his calm face in place.

The door banged open, and Hanabi walked in, wiping water off her face. "Phew," she said airily. "I don't know about you guys, but that cookie sure sucked. I'm sure nee-chan didn't bake it, right, nee-chan?"

That was the last straw for Neji.

"OUT!" he screamed, the veins near his eyes bulging. "GET OUT!"

* * *

"Some meeting, huh?" Ino commented at lunch the following school day. She twirled the straw around her milkshake, smiling in amusement. 

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! Nii-san didn't mean it! I'm really sorry!" Hinata apologized for the nth time. "I'm really sorry!"

"Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan," Shino said, shrugging.

"Yeah! It wasn't your fault those cookies were spiked!" Naruto said cheerfully. "Although Sasuke barfing— _that_ was hysterical! Priceless!" He started to laugh again. "And then… And then when—Ino… she…" Naruto broke into fresh gales of laughter.

"SHUT UP NARUTO!" Ino and Sasuke shouted.

"But… But…! It's my fault! I'm really sorry!" Hinata bowed repeatedly.

"Hey, what's going on? What did you guys do to Hinata-chan?" Kiba demanded, plunking down his tray beside Ino.

"We weren't doing anything to her! She was the one apologizing to us!" Naruto replied defensively, stopping from laughing.

"Cool it, Kiba," Shino said quietly before Kiba could reply.

"Shut up, Naruto," said Sasuke without looking up, fiddling with his fountain pen. "Well, since our last meeting was a concrete failure, we may as well start over again."

Hinata looked horrified with herself.

"None of it is your fault, Hinata-san," Sasuke said tightly. He looked away quickly from her.

Hinata wanted to cry. "Um… O-Okay…" she said, her lips trembling. She bent low on her food, trying to hide her tearing eyes. _Everything is my fault! I never should've let nii-san bake those cookies! Not only was our meeting ruined, he was humiliated before my classmates! And now Sasuke-san's mad at me… Oh, I wish this day would end soon… They all think the meeting was a disaster, too. And it's all because of me! _She took a deep breath and willed the tears away. Focusing on the table, she tried to think of things other than the events that recently took place, unaware of two pairs of eyes watching her.

Sasuke glanced at Hinata constantly, who had her hair bowed and looked like she was minutely examining every nook and cranny of their table. Her hair hid her face so he wasn't sure what she was feeling or doing. But he was sure something was wrong with her. She sounded shaky, and she wasn't participating in the meeting. _Dammit, I can't afford to talk to her now! I just barfed all over her carpet... Maybe in a few days she'll forget all about it, though. And then we'll forget that thing ever happened. But I can't face her now… She must think I'm a total loser, like that! Oh, shit… Hm, maybe Shino can help me… Or maybe Ino… But then they'll know! Oh shit. This is really stupid. I just go up to her and talk to her. But then, I just barfed all over her carpet! She might not want to talk to me… Unless of course I ask for an… apology… Sigh… This is too troublesome…_

Gaara, who had been silent since the morning took his time observing Hinata and the others. They were discussing the meeting she told him at their lunch, the one for their English project. Although the project was due for the fourth quarter, they were starting work now. _Sasuke sure doesn't waste any time. _He glanced at Hinata, who seemed to be glued watching the table. _I don't care what happened at the meeting, but if it affected Hinata so much, then someone has to pay for it. _

* * *

**  
A/N: **Oh my gosh! Sorry for the looong update! This chapter was already almost ready for posting, but I got stuck on the ending, so you'll have to excuse Gaara's corny line at the end. **–sighs- **Also, I got too busy with schoolwork and playing Dragon Quest VIII—it is just too addicting! Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for this chapter as it kind of sucks, but if you give me nice reviews I'll do better! **–smiles suggestively- **Anyway.Happy Holidays to everybody! Spread the Christmas cheer and SasuHina love!

**  
Payday: -gets glomped- **Ooh. Thank you! XD If you must know (and I think you already do) Temari distracted the two guys so Gaara could score some major points. Heh heh. Wish I had a sister like that. o.O

**Kichou: **Thanks! Yeah, poor Neji, being saddled with Hanabi. Points for Hinata for a date with Gaara, hehe XD

**The Dark Hanyou: **Not much fluff here, I'm afraid! Just sappy character thoughts and a whole bowl of embarrassment. But there's going to be more fluff in the later chapters! Well, duh. XD Please don't mind me.

**thunder sister: **Nice! You should consider a career in commentator-ing, hehe. Orochimaru is coming up in the next chapter… I think. I'm still undecided yet, but hopefully I get to start the next chapter during the rest of the vacation. And yes, there will be Itachi, although I myself am not clear on his role, though. I'll have to think it through. Any suggestions?

**Anime/Manga lubber: **Yea, my point exactly! XD

**mI.ShOE: **Well, here you are. I'll be sure to add more KakaIru, if you like it so much!

**hatami: **Yeah, I thought it was short too… I'll do my best to make it longer and better, though! Hm, I'll take you up on those Spanish lessons anytime!

**Maynar Namiya: **Thanks for the constructive criticism! Hopefully this time I managed to articulate everything well. Thank you!

**ospreyanimeg: **Yep, I think so too. Usually my style changes after a hiatus, because I'd be reading SasuHina fics to give me inspiration. Thanks!

'**.Serene. Panda.': **Thanks! Well, I just got sick of everything being around Sakura— she is such a pest!

**shikaruTo: **Thank you so much for your lovely review! **–hugs shika-chan- **Thanks for the great drawing too, I had no idea I inspired anyone like that! I nearly cried! So sorry about your valentine fic… I would've loved to see it! Don't worry about Sasuke! He still has a fighting chance for Hinata… That lucky girl! XD I'm glad you noticed Hanabi's presence in the chapter! Much love 3

**xXAmakuraHinasakiXx: **Thank you! Hm, I guess Alone No More is on hiatus! I can't seem to continue it, meanwhile, enjoy yourself with this one!

**Lunarangel's Dark Flame: **Of course I know you, and** y**es, thank you for the summary! You hit all the nuances dead-on! **–glomps Kiba's biggest fan- **Yep, I hate skirts too! Especially when I'm being forced to wear them. Man, that sucks. Hehehe. XD And you're right about Sakura being an annoying bitch. Too bad I can't kill her off here. Hm, but maybe I can. Hehe. Either way.

**Rakusu-Yamato: **Hm, that's nice… Sasuke entering into the Hyuuga estate. I'll let you in on a little secret: Sasuke lives in a high-rise condominium. Yum. XD Thanks for the picture thingy, it looks really nice. Hahaha! Desperate for love, eh? Hm, Neji and Hanabi? I'll think about it. I'm kind of wrung out from making Neji mad! Aww a bid supporter! Thank you so much!

**kenshinlover2002: **He's not gay! He just… Um… Has an inordinate amount of affection (and probable lust) for Iruka-sensei. XD Thanks.

**Shanice Miharu: **Yep, pareho tayo! Sakura ticks me off, like that. Hm, ShinoIno isn't so bad, eh? I'll look into it. Ingats!

**Love Hunter 02: **Yep, I'm a Filipino! Mm, salamat, hehe! Mabuhay tayo! XD Keep on reading, ne?

**Dearx: **Yes! YES! FINALLY! Someone finally noticed that little bit! Thank you so much! Am working on the SasuHina moments, though it kind of eludes me for now… I hope I can think of GaaHina moments too… Hay… So hard to write a triangle! Thanks!

**Xtreme Nuisance: **Thank you so much! Wow, it's kind of hard to think that I make people react like that. o.O I have to do more. XD Well, here's the next chapter!


End file.
